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by makuroshi
Summary: Haruka was never fond of the Internet, or any avant-garde technology, for that matter. He tries to avoid using them at all costs, and everything goes well until one fine day, Nagisa, Rei and Makoto introduce him to the blackhole from hell called YouTube. (in which Rin is a rising YouTube star, Haru discovers his channel by accident and gets a little obsessed.)
1. Prologue

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**Pairing: Haruka/Rin/Haruka**

* * *

><p>The screen in front of him is currently flashing with an almost blinding white light, and Haruka has to squint to shield his eyes from the offending brightness. He blinks a few times, letting his pupils adjust to the incoming light that is far too intense for his tastes. Haruka sighs, grabbing the mouse to move the cursor while trying to figure out where the pre-installed web browser is.<p>

If there is one thing in this world that Haruka would rather live without, it's technology.

By technology, he means the more advanced, avant-garde type people use for leisure and entertainment, the kind that gets obsolete within a matter of months after its release because there's always a 'new and improved' edition to follow. Tablets, laptops, smartphones… they are items that have now become so common, almost like household appliances, and Haruka knows of people who can literally drop dead if they were to live a day without these tools. Thankfully, he's not one of them.

Take his electrical rice-cooker and griller away, however, and he might just pass out from the lack of his staple rice and mackerel.

Okay, so _maybe _not all technology is bad. Still, he doesn't understand the appeal in endlessly scrolling down pages of pictures and words typed out in too small fonts, doesn't see the point in spending hours and hours on the Internet doing absolutely nothing beneficial. He had seen some of the websites Nagisa always check during recess, something about updating status and replying to the never ending stream of comments. The cheerful brat has an idiotic grin on his face all the time while doing that.

It's a lot of crap, really. Nagisa once forced him and Makoto to make a Facebook account, reasoning out that "it's easier to keep in touch with friends and families, Haru-chan!" and "but you _have_ to play Criminal Case, I swear, it's really good!". Haruka kept silent and responded with a blank stare, because the only 'friends and families' he has are Makoto, Nagisa, Rei and his parents (regardless how pathetic that sounds) and he would much prefer swimming over surfing the Internet any day. Surfing real waves, on the other hand, _that_'s something he'd like to try. Makoto though, being the gentle giant with a heart softer than pudding that he is, easily gave in to his childhood friend's persuasion and signed up for Facebook. Now he's already in the Pet Rescue Saga's Top 20 ranks, and still climbing.

So yeah, when it comes to social networks, Nanase Haruka pretty much vowed that hell will probably freeze over before he actually stoop that low and succumb to peer pressure (aka Nagisa).

The rest of the world doesn't share his opinion, though. Amakata-sensei, along with a few other classical literature teachers of Iwatobi High, came up with the notion that the students should utilize IT in their learning experience, and so had assigned them to research tasks. Each of them had to draw lots on which story they will have to work on, and of course, what is school assignment without long-ass analytical essays? To make things worse, fate is just hating on Haruka because Makoto got a different one.

Which means he's on his own in this. Well, shit.

And that brings him to the current situation. Haruka finds the web browser after a few clicks and cut to the chase. Not bothering to explore any further, he starts typing 'Genji Monogatari' into the search box, and within a split second, thousands of results appeared. Haruka is used to scouring the library after school for research materials, spending hours and hours flipping through the pages while Makoto dozes off waiting. Compared to that, this is practically heaven.

Okaaaayy, he has to begrudgingly admit that this thing is useful and somewhat magical. Still.

By the time he is done with the assignment, the digital clock on his shelf flashes a crimson 02:14 A.M, way past his usual bedtime. Haruka is sure the last time he'd felt this worn out was during that 100m freestyle race he reluctantly participated in a few years back. His eyes are now beyond sore, a pulsating ache throbs deep inside his sockets, and sleep suddenly sounds like the best thing ever after water and miso glazed mackerel steaks. He briefly wonders if Makoto is done with his 'Kaguya Hime' essay. The guy has always been good at literature and is far more tech-savvy than him anyway, so this thing is probably a no-brainer for him.

Crawling under the blanket for a well-deserved rest, Haruka sighs, swearing that he's never touching the little device of the devils again.

But the universe, it seems, has other plans in store.

* * *

><p>There is a loud commotion in the classroom that morning involving lots of squealing and screaming. Haruka really doesn't want to know what has prompted the girls who were crowding around one table to act like 5-year-olds high on candies (not like they aren't already always like that) but he can't help <em>knowing<em> anyway, because the girls are yelling continuous narratives throughout watching whatever it is that's tickling their fancies.

"Ohhh my _god, _he is _sooo_ freaking cute!" One of the girls shouts just as Haruka finds his seat. A few of his other male classmates roll their eyes, and for once, Haruka shares their sentiment.

"I know! He's such a babe, look, he even cried at the hugging scene!" They all go silent for a while, seemingly concentrating on the video before out of the blue, in perfect and downright creepy synchrony, the girls let out a chorus of "awwww!", swooning and sighing theatrically.

"Why can't all boys be like him?"

Haruka is staring out the window at the falling leaves when he hears a boy ask loudly in an annoyed voice. "Like what, a crybaby?"

Instantly, the girls snap around to send deathly glares at the boy whom Haruka now notices is Tsukki, the outspoken guy in class known for his stinging sarcasm.

"No you jerk, a romantic! You guys don't understand the true meaning of romance, at all!" Streams of agreement and complains follow, and it looks as if a fight is going to break out between the two groups. Luckily, class 2-A's resident peacemaker and actual angel Tachibana Makoto is there to calm things down. Haruka observes as Makoto tries to fend off the onslaught of date proposals and love confessions that flood him right after the incident.

"See? Makoto-kun here is the perfect example of how guys should behave, you know?"

"Yeah! But I still think Rin-kun is cuter…"

The casually dropped name sounds awfully familiar. Haruka has no idea who the hell this 'Rin-kun' is, but if the girls fawn over him so much, then he must be a popular person or something. Probably an idol from a random boyband. Or even a good-looking cosplayer; girls are into that these days. Either way, it doesn't concern his life, so he lets it go.

* * *

><p>They're having lunch at a quiet spot near the school's swimming pool when Nagisa suddenly pipes up, merrily talking through a mouthful of his favourite ¥480 Iwatobi bread. Sometimes Haruka worries for the kid's health. Eating too much sugary stuff is never a good thing. Mackerel is definitely the way to go.<p>

"Mako-chan, Haru-chan," Nagisa begins, cheeks still stuffed full with bread, some crumbs even spraying out as he speaks. Beside him, Rei is prepared with a speech on eating manners ready to roll off his tongue. "Have you checked out our latest video?"

Haruka casts a side glance at his friend. He already knows where this conversation is going. "Which video," he asks, monotonous as usual.

"The candid camera one where we pranked Amakata-sensei with a frog in her bag!"

"Ah, that one," Haruka says. He has absolutely no idea which video it was.

He's not to be blamed, though, because there are _tons of them_, all uploaded weekly to the YouTube account Nagisa and Rei run together. Nagisa always comes up with the most bizarre ideas, ranging from reviewing new cake and dessert shops in the city to a guideline of silly ways to kiss, but they mostly revolve around food. Surprisingly, despite the simple, childish and at times immature contents of the videos, the channel is watched by quite a number of viewers. Haruka recalls Nagisa bragging about reaching 999 subscribers last month, and god knows how many there are now. Perhaps the people enjoy watching poor Rei slowly losing his insanity over his boyfriend's antics and crazy eating skills.

Nagisa is sharp enough to see through Haruka's deceptions. "Hmmm… You're obviously lying, Haru-chan. You didn't watch it, right?

"I did." Haruka glares at Makoto to ask for backup help, but the green-eyed boy is already lost in the wonders of his mother's home-cooked bento.

"Oh, reaaaally? Then tell me, what did Amakata-sensei do to the frog when she saw it?"

Damn. No wonder people say that one lie leads to another. "…. She-" Haruka pauses, wrecking his brain to seek for a viable response, finding none. Ugh, screw it all. "…threw it out the window."

"Wrong! She stuffed it in the staff room's fridge! Haru-chaaaaannn!" Nagisa pouts cutely and wails, rubbing his blonde head against Haruka's shoulder fervently to show his protest. The fact that their sweet teacher has just committed a blatant murder on an innocent animal goes unheeded.

"It was uploaded yesterday, wasn't it? I think I saw it on my dash…" Great, Makoto, now you're talking. "I'll probably watch it tonight with Ran and Ren. They're huge fans of their Nagisa-niichan and Megane-niichan."

Upon hearing his nickname kindly given by the Tachibana twins, Rei splutters and chokes on his barley tea with the grace of a strangled swan. Which is, not really a beautiful sight. "Makoto-senpai, t-they're _still _calling me that?!"

"Well, you've got to admit, it's kinda endearing though," Makoto chuckles, turning to look at Haruka and smile apologetically. "Haru, you want to watch with us?"

"No, thanks. I'll pass."

"Awwwww, you're no fun, Haru-chan!"

"Haruka-senpai, I reckon that it would not hurt to at least watch one of our masterpieces… Oh, the aesthetics of filming are at its height in that video! Such a beautiful angle capturing the scenes discretely from between the shelves… such quality graphics that will blow your mind away!" Rei says dramatically. After realizing that he's fallen into the 'Drama King Rei' mode again, he coughed to hide his embarrassment, carefully putting his chopsticks back into the box. Nagisa has turned his attention to silently snatching the octopus sausages from Rei's lunch. "Besides, it will be a highly enjoyable watch, I can ensure you that. We will be very pleased and proud if you were to watch anything on our channel, Haruka-senpai."

There's that sparkle in his purple eyes, and who the hell can say no when Rei plays that 'pure-hearted, admiring kouhai' card?

Haruka holds his three friends' hopeful gazes for a few seconds. Then, a small "okay" is the only thing he manages to say before he is tackled onto the ground and engulfed in a surprise group hug.

* * *

><p>Nagisa and Rei end up following them back to Makoto's place, wanting to witness the moment Haruka is converted to ButterPenguin143's fan.<p>

Bless whoever came up with the atrocious name.

The video is nothing short of wacky and eccentric, as expected of the duo. Apparently, Amakata-sensei was not one bit fazed by the slimy frog croaking at her the moment she opens her bag. Instead, like Nagisa pointed out, she picked it up without hesitation and threw it into the staffroom's chiller, leaving it to freeze to death. Despite the adorable, doe-eyed look… she's really not one to be messed with.

As soon as the screen turns to black and the little boxes of related videos pop out, Ran and Ren clap their hands in glee, glomping Nagisa in a warm embrace while singing and yelling praises. Makoto was certainly not lying when he said that the twins are die-hard fans. Rei smiles fondly at the sight, and was about to close the webpage when something catches Haruka's eyes.

"Wait," he says. "Click on the next one."

Rei stares at the screen, surprised and confused. "Piudipai's Octodad Adventures? My, my, Haruka-senpai, I'd never have guessed that you would be interested in such exquisi—"

"Not that, Rei. The waterfall one." Haruka mutters, pointing towards the small box in the grid of recommended videos. Rei shrugs. He clicks on it, and it starts to play.

"_Heeeeello everyone! We meet again! I'm Rin, and I'm here to bring you—"_

"Uwah, it's Rin-chan!" Nagisa shouts in an instant, barely able to contain his excitement. He lurches at the laptop and presses his face against the screen, letting out a small squeal.

"Rin-chan?" Makoto asks, patting the heads of his younger siblings when they come barreling into his arms. "You know him, Nagisa?"

"Yeap, it's him! He's the hottest YouTube star in Japan right now. See?" The blonde points at the view counts on the right -just above the fully-blue like/dislike bar- that reads **270,159. **"His videos are really popular, and he's so cool too!"

There are more conversations taking place in the room, and somewhere at one point Rei and Nagisa are bantering about who Ran likes more, but Haruka hears nothing. His eyes -now glinting with pure interest- are completely glued to the scenes unfolding on the screen, taking in each and every detail of the crystal clear waterfall that this Rin-chan (or SharkBoiUnleashed, whatever) is talking about right now.

"_As you can see, the water here is perfectly unpolluted, and… Oh, c'mere!" _The maroon-haired boy exclaims in enthusiasm, motioning the cameraman to come closer. "_Fishes! Look, they're so little and pretty… Their silver scales glow when it catches sunlight. Man, this place is awesome!"_

Unconsciously, Haruka inches closer and closer, ultimately absorbed by the clip. He can feel it course through his body; the exhilaration at the thought of feeling the water enveloping his body.

Water is there, mere inches from his face, and calling out for him. He's yearning for it, but it's so close yet so far. No matter how spectacularly realistic-looking the waterfall is in the video, in the end, it's only a digital representation of Water, not Water itself.

What a cruel invention this YouTube is.

He watches as SharkBoiUnleashed dives into the pristine icy water without bothering to remove his black tank-tops, and the way his laughter rings in the air as he swims makes Haruka's heart clench tightly. All of a sudden, his chest consists of thousands of acrobats doing cartwheels and triple somersaults, and just before the clip ends, the boy playfully splashes water onto the camera lens, effectively knocking the breath out of Haruka's lungs.

"_So guys, here it is, the perfect place for an unforgettable date with your loved one! Romantic, isn't it? Don't forget to subscribe!"_

The 6-minute video ends with one final wink from Rin, and Haruka is left dumbstruck.

What. In. The. World. Did he just watch.

Feeling disgruntled and unsatisfied like a child robbed of his candy, he grabs the mouse (left unattended ages ago when Nagisa tackled Rei and challenged him to a wrestling match) and fumbles to find the replay button. The video loops again and ends just as soon. In the background, Nagisa is giggling idiotically and whispering "look, look, Haru-chan is totally into Rin-chan's videos!" to Makoto. Haruka ignores them and quickly clicks on another of SharkBoiUnleashed's video, a fairly new one judging from the significantly lesser view counts. The moment the mesmerizing shores of Shirahama Beach show up on screen, Haruka knows that he's in too deep.

"_Heeeeeeeello everyone! I'm Rin, and today we will go on a __**beach **__**date**__!" _Rin, dressed impeccably in dark red sleeveless shirt and fitting black shorts, waves at the camera and flashes a grin brighter than the summer sun. He stops walking to stand right on the shoreline, letting the little ripples wash over his feet as he spreads his arms out, basking in the ocean's calmness. _"Ah, the wind feels great~"_

Haru feels his heart stop for a moment.

Yeap, there's no way out of this. Not anymore.

And just like that, Nanase Haruka is lost in the spiral of eternal darkness that is YouTube.

* * *

><p>AN: First chapter of the RinHaru YouTube AU! How was it? Do leave a review~ Oh and you can find me on AO3 and tumblr under the same username, in case you want to talk/send prompts/anything ;)

Hope you enjoyed reading!


	2. Haru's Epiphany

No one mentions anything about SharkBoiUnleashed or Haruka's unexpected interest in his videos after the 'little viewing session + sleepover' they had at Makoto's house. After all, Haruka only stayed to watch a couple more before excusing himself, muttering something along the lines of "watering my plants" and "left mackerel on the table", thus saving himself from any of Nagisa's ruthless teasing. He doesn't grow a garden and never forgets to store his mackerels in the fridge, so it's a blatant lie, but they didn't mind. Maybe he was just tired and needed some sleep. He won't be getting any if he'd stayed, because Nagisa would have pestered him to no end and the twins would've forced him to read them bedtime stories and slept clinging onto him like a koala to a tree.

Life goes on as usual like nothing has changed.

Or so they thought.

"Haru, do we have homework for Maths?" Makoto asks while putting away his stationeries. As far as he remembers, there is none, but it never hurts to ask for confirmation. When he doesn't get an answer, Makoto looks up from his bag to peer at Haruka. The silent boy is staring at a page on his notebook, making no attempts at packing up. _Strange_, Makoto thinks. Perhaps his question was masked by the hustle and bustles of afterschool. He tries again. "Haru?"

Silence.

"Ummm... Haru?"

No reaction.

Makoto is now genuinely worried, because regardless of how zoned out Haruka sometimes appear to be, he _always _responds when Makoto calls out his name.

Has Haru gone deaf? Oh my god, it's the water isnt't it! All that swimming has blown his eardrum off ohmygod_HaruI'msorryIshouldhavewarnedyou_-

"HARUUUU!" Makoto yells, sweating and overwhelmed with anxiety and guilt as he comes to the conclusion that his best friend is now deaf from swimming too much. Regardless of how absurd the thinking is, at least it proves to be the right action to take because the thunderous noise finally snaps Haruka out of his reverie.

Startled and confused, Haruka turns to frown at Makoto, who is for some reason already close to tears. "Makoto, you said something?"

Makoto breathes in relief. "Thank god you're okay... I asked you if we have homework for Maths…"

"Oh," Haruka replies nonchalantly, returning his gaze to the table. There're some indecipherable scribbles on the paper, along with a few pencil doodles scattered around. Haruka is infamous for his doodling tendencies, having had the teachers catching him red-handed many times before. However, they always let him go unscathed and without scolding because seriously, that guy can _draw_. His so-called 'doodles' can make Van Gogh cry tears of jealousy and give Da Vinci a run for his money, if they were still alive. His drawings, nevertheless, are usually of water-dwelling species, captivating sceneries and some weird-looking animal hybrids, so when Makoto catches a glimpse of a person's face on the corner of the page, naturally his curiousity is piqued.

Stealthily, Makoto tries to steal a look at the book, but Haruka is faster. He covers the page with his hand and pulls it away. "We don't," he answers.

"I see..." It's clear that Haruka is hiding something. Pushing the twinge of hurt to the back of his mind (because _best friends don't keep secrets!_), Makoto nudges, trying his luck. "By the way, Haru, can I see your dra-"

"No."

Makoto sighs, feeling dejected. Slinging his backpack, he patiently waits as Haru begins to slowly sort his things out. The things he does for this boy, really.

"Haru, you look kinda exhausted today," he comments, noticing the sluggish way Haruka moves. "Did you get enough sleep yesterday?"

Haruka freezes upon hearing the question. He recognises this tone too well, having heard it countless times throughout his life. It's the 'Mamakoto' voice, a term creatively coined by Nagisa to describe Makoto's intonation whenever he's concerned and fussing about something like a mother-hen. Usually, Haruka doesn't mind Makoto butting in, but this time is different, because _no way in hell_ is he going to let anyone know what exactly he has been losing sleep over.

"I'm fine," he mutters, hastily tucking the books away. He grabs the one with doodles and a piece of it falls off into his bag, thankfully shielded from Makoto's view.

The monochrome sketch of a young boy stares right back at him -midlength hair tied in a messy ponytail, black necklace hanging nicely round his neck, sharp rows of teeth perfectly aligned in a pretty smile...

Haruka feels his breath hitch in his throat. He zips his bag up in haste.

That's right. Absolutely _no one _must know.

* * *

><p>A long sleepless week and a hundred-over videos later (not including replays), Haruka now knows the melody of the intro song to SharkBoiUnleashed's videos by heart. He knows that Rin uploads new videos every Tuesday and vlogs about his life every Saturday. He knows that Rin has a younger sister named Gou and a black mongrel called Winnie. That he likes to eat his steaks medium, is very good at English, is afraid of spiders and height, loves to listen to love songs from the 80s (what a sap)... Heck, Haruka knows so much about Rin that it seems as if they're two childhood buddies growing up in the same town together, which is obviously not the case.<p>

Calling it an addiction is probably putting it too lightly. It's almost like an obsession now; rushing back home after class to turn the laptop on, clicking on the bookmarked page and waiting anxiously for it to load while twiddling his thumbs like a schoolgirl with a stupid crush. His heart races every time at the thought of having a new video to watch. Of seeing Rin's face on the screen again.

If someone were to tell the past Haruka that one day he'd turn into a creepy fanboy shutting himself up in his room, watching another boy's YouTube videos a bajillion times and _enjoying _every second of it, he would have laughed. That's really saying something about how absurd it is, because Haruka's laughter is as rare as the sightings of Halley comets every 75 years. Probably rarer.

It's driving him crazy.

The thing is, it isn't as if Rin's videos are _that _good anyway. SharkBoiUnleashed sells itself as a mostly random, spur-of-the-moment kind of channel, the kind that people watch for the person in it and not the quality content. It appears on the Popular in Japan section every other day because the videos just keeps on racking up views, attracting rabid fangirls like Haruka's classmates with the interesting thumbnails he uses of him making adorable faces. One video -"Rin Watches Winter Sonata"- which Haruka assumes the girls had been watching back then, has around 400 000 views all thanks to his cute crying face that makes even baby pandas feel ugly.

All in all, it's just the normal so-so, 3 out of 5 stars stuff. But there's an X-factor in his channel that makes Haruka stay.

It's Water.

Amongst the other rubbish videos he uploaded (which Haruka still watched no less than three times each), Rin has a separate playlist called **'101 Places for a Romantic Date'**. He goes to the places himself, filming the sceneries and commenting on the ambience. He also gives cheesy and often ridiculous ideas on how to surprise one's lover, like scattering rose petals in a treasure hunt trail and arranging candles in a carefully carved bamboo stick. At the end of each installment, he gives a _'Rin's Romance_ _Rating'_ for the visited place, which pops up on the screen in pink little hearts that hovers in the corner. Nothing too special, just like any other love gurus.

Except that Rin only goes to places where there's a body of water nearby.

Lakesides, creeks, rivers, seashores, waterfalls; Rin's idea of a romantic location happens to be anywhere within a few meter radius from water, preferably plenty enough for him to swim in, which he happens to do in like, 70% of his videos. He chooses the quiet, secluded areas (the idea is for it to be romantic, after all) and god, the spots he picks are always beautiful. People seem to really enjoy it judging from the positive remarks flooding the comment box. A few even _went_ on dates at those places, and they all said nothing but wonderful things.

Today is a vlog day. Rin always lets his hair down in his vlogs, both literally and figuratively. On Tuesdays, Rin is a witty, creative and funny boy who takes his viewers around on a virtual trip with a big smile enough to make hearts melt. On Saturdays, though, he's different. On Saturdays, Rin is a soft, romantic little darling, who casually talks about how his week went, about his baby sister who's now all grown up and is going to be snatched away from Big Brother, about his childhood dream of finding 'the one' and having a costume wedding in Disneyland. He's open, honest, emotions bare for people to see, and Haruka kind of admires how perfectly comfortable Rin is in sharing his personal thoughts with strangers.

"_Hi everyone, whaaat's up?" _Rin greets in English at the camera. He does that occasionally, and Haruka is still a bit amazed at his flawless pronunciations. _"In case you haven't noticed, I have something special with me today… Ta-dah!"_

Rin holds up a white banner, '**SHARKBOIUNLEASHED 200****TH**** VIDEO!' **printed over it in bold crimson letters. _"It's my 200__th__ one already, can you believe it?! Really guys, thank you so much for putting up with my crap all this while. I never thought that anybody would ever want to watch my videos_,_" _He continues, smiling fondly, voice already trembling. Oh god, he's going to cry any time soon, isn't he?

Luckily, he doesn't. Haruka can't handle watching him cry, anyway, because it makes him feel… stuff.

"_To show how much I love you guys, I am going to hold a giveaway contest. I had this for my 100__th__ too, so you know the drill right? But for those new to my account, here's how it works. Leave a comment down below telling me what you like the most about my channel, and I'll pick the best one," _Rin explains._"Excited yet? Wait till you hear the prize. It's a…" _He makes a drum-rolling sound complete with the hand gestures and Haruka perks up.

The suspense is killing him softly.

"_Trip with me to Aikawa Hot Springs!"_ Rin finally exclaims, grinning and clapping his hands in glee. He continues to talk more about how amazing the place is, and how he went on a vacation there when he was a child and was mistakenly ushered into the ladies' section because they all thought he was this cute little girl who lost her mother. _"I'll be waiting for your comments. Peace out, people!" _Taking an oversized shark plushie that was lying around, Rin pokes the plushie's nose at the screen while making some garbled squeaky noises before the screen goes black.

Haruka's eyes flicker.

Did he hear that right? A chance to meet SharkBoiUnleashed, his YouTube crush obsession idol, face-to-face? On a date at the famous hot springs featured in the secret magazine he hid under the bed, no less?

Haruka contemplates for a while. There are sooooo many ways this thing can go wrong. First, there's the fact that Rin has _thousands_ of followers, and therefore, more competition. He might not even notice Haruka in the sea of comments he's sure to get. There's also no way to go around the fact that they're both boys, and although this is not an _actual date_, it's still kinda quirky. But most importantly, Haruka is not sure he could handle meeting Rin, who for the past week had been this unreachable boy of sunlight and joy and happiness, separated from him miles away by a computer screen.

Haruka is afraid he'd burst.

After much thinking, he makes his resolution. He grabs his light blue cellphone from the shelf, dusts its cover a bit and scrolls through his contacts. It doesn't take too long, considering how few he had.

After a few rings, a familiar voice speaks up. "Hello? Haruka-senpai?"

"Yeah. It's me."

"It's rare for you to be calling," Rei says, still sounding like he couldn't believe that Nanase I-hate-technology Haruka had called him out of nowhere at 7.30 PM. "Do you need something? Or maybe you just want someone to talk to?"

Haruka ignores the last bit. "Listen, Rei. I need your help," he replies.

"Oh! Of course, I'd be glad to offer help! But it must be something particularly urgent then, for you to actually go through the trouble of calling. I'm quite surprised, to be honest," Rei chuckles in amusement.

Haruka, however, is not so amused.

"I _know_ how to use the phone, Rei. I just don't want to."

As if sensing his senior's distress, Rei immediately stops laughing and clears his throat. Haruka can practically _see _the boy adjusting his glasses anxiously even through the phone. "I'm sorry Haruka-senpai, I didn't mean to mock you or anything…" Suddenly, a loud screech and sounds of people struggling echo from Rei's side. Then he starts to yell, voice disappearing off the phone as he pulls it away from his ear. "Tch, Nagisa stop—ugh—give my spectacles back! Nagisaaaa!" There are giggles in the distance and more shoutings and scramblings before Rei finally gets back to the call. "Sorry about that."

"Nagisa is there with you?"

"Yes, we're in my room. He insisted that we read some of these… _stories_. That our fans wrote about us."

Haruka frowns. "You have fans?"

"Contrary to people's beliefs, yes, Haruka-senpai, we do. Quite a number, actually, ooof—" Rei lets out a grunt, obviously tackled from behind by none other than Nagisa. The phone is snatched from Rei's hands, and then: "HI HARU-CHAAAN!"

There are times when Haruka questions how Rei endures Nagisa's pranks and silliness, yet _still _love the brat so much.

"Hi Nagisa, now pass the phone back to Rei."

"Awwww Haru-chan, you don't like talking to me?"

Haruka sighs. He'll listen to Nagisa talk all day if he wants some other time, but now is not it. "I have something to ask him," he says. There are things he can tell Nagisa, and things he can't lest the whole world would know.

"Jeez, you're so cold, Haru-chan!" The blonde pouts and whines. Rei apparently has to wrestle the phone from him before finally getting it back, much to his protests. Haruka can hear the softly whispered _"Rei-chan, hey, Rei-chan put it on loudspeaker!", _but whether or not Rei obliges, he doesn't know. "Haruka-senpai, it's me. So, how can I help?"

"I want to know," Haruka starts, pausing to take a breath. It's now or never. "How do I sign up for a YouTube account?"

There's a moment of silence.

Then, Nagisa's earsplitting "ARE YOU SERIOUS HARU-CHAAANN?" confirms that yes, Rei indeed has put him on loudspeaker. Great, all of his attempts at keeping this a secret has gone to ashes.

* * *

><p>AN: Someone please tell me what dog Winnie is, haha :') By the way, YouTubers do sometimes read fics of themselves, and they're usually those NC-17 stuff, it's really funny. I figured Nagisa would be the type to do those things. Do leave a review on what you think of the story so far, I really appreciate it!


	3. Intervention

The signing up process is a terrible, _terrible_ hell.

It might be something as simple as ABC for other people -YouTube did try their best at making it as user-friendly as possible- but clearly it's not friendly enough for Haruka. As if making his way through the website and finding the right buttons while referring to instructions over the phone wasn't difficult enough, the registration form pops up and there it is, rows of empty columns staring at him, waiting to be filled in. Haruka sees the first one, and immediately regrets his decision.

He had to come up with a freaking _username_.

"Haruka-senpai, can you follow? Did you get the right page?" Rei asks, concerned over the lack of response from Haruka, who is already half-dead across the line in front of his laptop.

"It says that I need a username, Rei," Haruka answers, almost at his wits' end. Why in the world is this so complicated? It's just a dumb YouTube account, for god's sake! "And I can't think of any."

As always, when it comes to giving ideas and naming things, Nagisa will magically appear to contribute his two cents, even uninvited. More often than not, the result is disastrous.

"HOW ABOUT 'RINSECRETADMIRER', HARU-CHAN?" Nagisa chirps in, shouting into the phone's receiver despite it already set on loudspeaker, causing Haru to jerk away. "OR 'WATERSEXUAL'?"

"Nagisa-kun, please stop screaming. A human's eardrum can only withstand 20kHz of sound, and if you continue with your current volume, Haruka-senpai will lose his hearing within a couple of minutes."

"Oh shut it, Rei-chan. That wasn't what you said last night, when you asked me to go louder because you love listening to my—"

"ANYWAY," Rei, who's now blushing beetroot from his neck all the way up to his ears, coughs into his hands, desperate to change the topic. Too much information; he sure hopes Haruka-senpai didn't hear that. "Why not go for something that is not too obvious? 'rinsecretadmirer' is definitely out of the question. Just think of something you like, that you don't mind to be referred to online."

Taking Rei's advice into consideration, Haruka starts to list out the things he likes, counting them using his fingers. Mackerel, water, art. Oh, and don't forget Iwatobi-chan. That makes it four things that he actually likes enough to include in his Internet nickname. Still, he cannot seem to piece them all together, so in desperation and lack of ideas, he types in 'watersexual'.

Much to his despair, a red _'sorry, username is taken!'_ appears next to the textbox. Haruka is so ready to stab someone right now.

"Nagisa, 'watersexual' is taken," he says, earning a loud screech of horror from Rei.

"W-w-why would you even consider that one, Haruka-senpai?!"

Haruka shrugs, despite no one being there to see his gestures. "It sounded cool when he said it."

In the end, after a couple more fruitless attempts of finding the perfect username, Haruka keys in 'mackerelisgood'. The red turns to green, indicating that it's free to be used. Amidst the relief that courses through him, Haruka is a bit peeved that no one else in this world had thought highly enough of mackerel to actually use it as their pseudonym. What a blasphemy.

He fills in the rest of the form with ease -albeit in reluctance and yet another headache at figuring out a memorable password strong enough to be approved- and at long last, history is written.

Nanase I-despise-technology Haruka finally has his first (and possibly only) online social media account.

And it's all for the sake of winning a stupid giveaway contest.

Scrolling down his distressingly empty profile page, Haruka stares at the computer, unblinking. The first step has been taken, but the journey is still a long way to go. "Now what?"

* * *

><p>They're at the swimming club's practice stretching when Haruka approached Rei to ask about YouTube comments and how they work. He thinks he's doing the right thing by writing in the textbox beneath the video and clicking on 'Post', but he needs to make sure. It took him half the night to figure out how to sign up, another half composing a suitable sentence that could precisely convey all the complicated thoughts he has about Rin's channel. For once, he's working hard and putting effort on doing something that is not cooking or swimming, so jeopardising his chance to win is a risk he's not willing to take, not when such a prize is at stake.<p>

No one knows exactly how Nagisa does it, probably sold his soul to Satan for black magic or something, but as soon as Haruka finished talking, the boy pops up behind Rei like it's his natural habitat. From nothing.

"One comment is not enough, Haru-chan! You've gotta flood his inbox with your love, your passion, show him how badly you want to win!" Nagisa gushes on excitedly. "If you send once, and other people send ten, who do you think will have a higher chance to win?"

"But isn't that against the rules, or something?"

"Who _cares _about rules, Rei-chan! Haru-chan must win this shit, or else he'll never get to see Rin-chan!"

"That's not playing fair!"

"Everyone cheats once in a while!"

"Wait a minute," Haruka says, effectively shutting them both up. He narrows his eyes at the bickering pair. "How did you know what I was talking about? I didn't say anything about Rin's video, or winning any competition."

Realizing that they've been caught red-handed for being busybodies, Nagisa grin sheepishly. "Oooppss… Hehe, well, we were curious, you know? Of your sudden interest in YouTube. So we went and watched his latest vid, and the moment he mentioned the giveaway contest, BOOM! We know your true reason!"

"It's all your fault, Nagisa-kun. You were the one who insisted on finding out Haruka-senpai's intention-"

"Does Makoto know," Haruka asks, cutting off Rei from initiating yet another pointless argument. Knowing the pair, Makoto probably knows already. Maybe the whole _Iwatobi _knows about Haruka's dirty little secret and are laughing at him behind his back.

Nagisa doesn't answer, opting to shuffle his feet and give an anxious smile, while Rei looks conflicted like a child who broke a toy and had to confront his parents. Or a kid caught with his hands in the cookie jar.

"He knows, doesn't he."

There was a nod from the both of them, and then a "we're sorry?" from Nagisa that doesn't sound the least bit convincing and apologetic.

Makoto knows.

Haruka is never going to live this down.

Just when Haruka thinks his day couldn't get any worse, Makoto appears, hand paddles clutched close to his chest and a megawatt trademark smile playing on his lips. He brightens up even more -if that's even possible- when he sees the three of them- and proceeds to jog towards the trio, stupid grin still plastered on his face. Makoto looks happy. Too happy, even.

"Sorry I'm late, everyone!" He calls out, pausing to put the paddles on the floor. Haruka holds his breath, hopeful that Makoto will act like the understanding best friend he is and not make a big deal out of this. In fact, he's hoping that the boy won't even mention anything about it. Currently, Makoto's the only string of sanity Haruka had left.

But today is just really not his lucky day.

"Haru, I heard from Nagisa and Rei that you're joining Rin's giveaw—"

Before Makoto can finish his sentence, Haruka is already jumping into the pool, craving nothing more than to be immersed in the stretch of clear water and save himself from the embarrassment of having his friends discover his fanboy inclinations. It's so humiliating, even more so than that instance at his elementary school's swim club when he falsely said "I am home" (to be fair, it did feel like home for him).

His face and ears burn, and even under 8 feet of water he can still hear Rin's cheerful laughter ringing in his head, clear as the chimes of church bells on a wedding day. He closes his eyes, and he sees Rin's bright smile, the way his crimson eyes crinkle at the edges when his grin grows wide. Great, now he's suffering from 'Rin-withdrawal-symptoms'.

Letting the water engulf him in a cool, calming embrace, Haruka reflects on the first time he'd seen that waterfall video a week ago, muses about how it changed his life and made him such a mess and jumble of _feelings_.

What scares him the most is that he doesn't regret it. Not at all.

* * *

><p>"Haru!" Makoto says the next morning, thrusting his cellphone into Haruka's unsuspecting hands out of the blue. "Can you login on my phone for a bit? There's this YouTube video I want to watch and it can only be viewed by registered users."<p>

Haruka quirks an eyebrow, sharp stare scrutinizing and silently judging. He first glares at his friend, studying his facial expression for any signs of lying, then at the lime green phone in his palm as if it's going to morph into a Venus flytrap and bite his hands off.

It's not like Makoto to use his phone in the school for such futile and inane activities. That is more of Nagisa's thing. Something fishy is going on here.

"Make your own," he says, pushing the phone back. Makoto refuses it.

"No I don't have time for that. I'm in a hurry! Please, Haru…" The olive-haired boy is on edge, fidgeting and jittery on the balls of his feet. He sends a fleeting look towards the classroom door, seemingly looking out for someone.

"What video is it? Why do you need to watch it now?" Haruka enquires.

Gulping anxiously, Makoto scratches his cheek and turns his gaze away; a peculiar habit of him whenever he's unsure about something. Probably himself. Aha.

"I can't actually tell you… It's kinda private, and… yeah."

"You're planning to use my account details to watch something online without telling me exactly what it is?"

"Yes, that's right."

Haruka's brows furrow, assessing the situation. Then, in what must be the most condescending tone he has ever used in his life, he asks: "Makoto, are you watching porn at school?"

"Maybe… Wait, what?! OF COURSE NOT!" Makoto wails in protest, flailing his arms wildly. "I don't watch that stuff at school!"

"So you admit that you watch it at home?"

Makoto looks positively petrified now. "T-that's not what I said! Don't twist my words, Haruuu!" He shakes Haruka's shoulder from side to side and pouts, trying to win Haruka over with the adorable façade. Obviously he's been around Nagisa too much. "Come on, please? I won't do anything else, I promise."

Begrudgingly, Haruka relents, flipping the phone open and typing the URL. As soon as he finishes keying in the details, Makoto brightens up and opens his palm in excitement, gesturing for Haruka to return the phone. He sprints out of the classroom without saying a word, leaving the water-loving boy behind, bewildered. At first he thought that Makoto had to pee, which would perfectly explain why he was acting so squirmy and restless before, but then he noticed that Makoto had run towards the direction opposite of the toilets, down the walkway that leads to Year 1 students' classes.

Nanase Haruka is about to learn the first and most important lesson of using the Internet: Never forget to logout from your accounts on any devices that aren't yours. And he'll learn it the hard way.

* * *

><p>It's another hectic day in the life of Matsuoka Rin.<p>

Ever since making the breakthrough in the Top 50 Most Subscribed Channels of All Time, Rin has been more or less forced to constantly churn out new videos on a fixed schedule. Getting to this level took him a hell lot of time and effort, and he's not going to throw it away just because he ran out of ideas or lost the passion. Besides, although it's not really fame and success that he's after, Rin treasures his fans as much as he does his friends in the real world.

YouTube is an outlet for him to express himself without getting worried of skeptics or prejudice. So what if he fancies the smell of roses more than the pretty girl next door? So what if he lets his tears fall more often than a heartbroken lover would? Who cares if he watches Disney movies again and again, and still believes in that legend of one true kiss that cures all? On the Internet, no one, that's who. And that freedom to be whoever he wants to be… that's what Rin enjoys the most when it comes to maintaining an online persona.

Regardless, he still gets the occasional hate mails from viewers who deem his faith in romance revolting or old-fashioned, who sometimes throw insults and question his popularity. Some even go as far as accusing him of _buying _likes, which Rin thinks is fucking ridiculous because if there's any cash flow involved here, it's him who is on the receiving end, thanks to advertisements.

Still, the sweet, encouraging comments he gets from his fans keep him going. He reads them, every single one of them. At times, they say such amazing things that he can't help but to feel deeply moved.

Today, his inbox is particularly full.

Rin is scrolling down the comments on his giveaway contest video, looking for the one worthy of winning the grand prize. A bowl of mac & cheese rests on his lap, while his laptop lies on the table, connected to the charger. He takes note of the interesting ones, giggles at the raging hormonal fangirls' proclamations of undying love for him (there's one that reads "rin im so thirsty fo u!1!"), and skims through the rest, pausing once in a while to take a spoonful of his instant dinner.

And then, he sees it.

Rin's eyes widen and his jaw grows slack.

Rows and rows of comments line up on his screen, flooding the area as far as Rin could scroll, each containing different messages. None of them say the same thing, but they all share a common characteristic.

They're all posted by an icon-less user named 'mackerelisgood'.

The top one -presumably the most recent one coming from the aforementioned user- was posted 4 hours ago. Rin counts how many there are, because while it's a little bit freaky to be that obsessed and desperate, he's actually very flattered that someone likes him that much. Thirty-seven. There are thirty-seven comments from mackerelisgood, and every single one denotes what the person likes about Rin's channel.

The only problem is, those comments are in truth, more of what the person likes about Rin _himself _rather than his videos. The first one reads:

"_Your eyes. Are they always that red? Because sometimes they sparkle like rubies. I like watching them."_

Rin fights the incoming blush. He tries not to think of it too much, in favour of reading the next one:

"_I like that thing you do with your eyebrows when you're questioning something. It's really cute."_

Whoever this mackerelisgood is must be a very observant person, because even Rin doesn't know what his eyebrows look like on normal circumstances, let alone in such a specific condition. Rin is fairly taken aback by the nice things said about him. If mackerelisgood is real, Rin would've fallen for them at the drop of a hat.

It's as if they're _flirting_. And to be honest, Rin is falling for it. _Hard_.

To his misery (or delight, let's face it, every compliments hits straight at his heart like a cupid's arrow), there are thirty-five more comments to go, and Rin is not sure he could survive by the end of this.

"_How did you get your hair to look so silky? I bet they're as smooth as they look. Such a beautiful shade of maroon, too ;)"_

"_Your muscles are awesome! Such perfectly sculptured deltoids and triceps… I wish I can lay my head and rest on them, hehe"_

"_I love your laugh, Rin! Makes my world go round."_

By the thirtieth comment, Rin wants nothing more than to bury himself in a comforter and wrap it around his body like a spicy burrito in an attempt of hiding the flaming heat that's now threatening to spread down from his face to his neck. He's embarrassed, so _goddamn embarrassed _by the things mackerelisgood wrote, and his heart feels like it's about to spontaneously combust from the inexplicable happiness. Though he notices that the way the comments differ from each other almost as if they were written by at least three different people (some sound too cheerful, some overly philosophical and flowery, while some really simple and on-point), Rin can't fight this giddiness that attacks him at the thought of him being someone so special to another.

The thirty-sixth reads:

"_Your smile. They're really bright and pretty. I like it."_

Rin rolls around on his bed, unable to stop the silly grin. He buries his face into a pillow and lets out a muffled scream before making grabby hands for his cellphone. Speed-dialing his friend -who is also his cameraman- Rin waits for the call to connect, all the while rereading the second-last comment over and over again. Gosh, the freaking butterflies are still fluttering about in his stomach.

"Hello, Rin?"

Upon hearing his friend's voice, Rin sits up and in his state of cloud nine, slams the laptop shut. Then, he hums happily and declares.

"Sou, I think I found the winner."

The thirty-seventh comment, posted a day before the other thirty-six, lies unread at the bottom of the screen.

"_What I like about your channel: Water."_

* * *

><p>AN: Rin finally appears! Hehe are you guys excited yet? :P Reviews/favs/follows are appreciated!


	4. Moment of Truth

"Are you sure about this, Rin?" Sousuke asks, his downturned eyes squinting at the screen as he reads through the comments that his best friend claims to be 'the sweetest shit I've ever read'. Stopping at one that praises Rin's supposedly 'unique and mesmerizing teeth', Sousuke turns to give him the icky look. "'Cause I don't know, man. Sounds pretty creepy to me."

Rin appears offended, grabbing the laptop from the table to cradle it close to his chest like it's a precious treasure to be protected. It is in a way, because stored in there are hundreds of classic romantic comedies and tear-jerkers that he'd painstakingly downloaded via torrent and collected over the years; Titanic in HD included. "Look, I've never had anyone say something like this before, okay?" He retorts. "I have the right to feel flattered!"

At that, Sousuke chuckles fondly, giving Rin's head a little noogie which earns him a protesting groan. "You could've just asked, I would say those things to you day and night if that's what you wanted." Then, he adds with a grin. "Not all of them, though, because some really sound like what a middle-aged cyber predator in disguise would say to a 9-year-old girl he targeted on Facebook."

"Sou, I'm being serious here. I just—" Rin pauses, struggling to find the right words to make Sousuke understand. It's hard to describe and justify his 'crush' on this individual he'd never even met before, especially to someone so matter-of-fact like Sousuke. "It's just that, I feel like I should meet this person. Or at least get to know them. Call it instincts, or something."

The problem in dealing with someone whose belief in romance is as strong and undeterred as Rin is that, every single encounter is considered a potential love interest. Whether it's the rom-com quality bump-into-someone scene on a random street, a call from a wrong number or a coincidental brush of hands while reaching for the same book in the library, Rin sees them all as his chance. Even one as brief and incredulous as a casual chat online, or in this case, a string of flirtatious comments left on his YouTube account.

It may sound a little too impulsive, but that's the kind of ideas you get in your head when you've spent your last few Valentines alone, watching about every chick flick and romantic movies in existence. Rin has waited, and waited, for the right one to come. And frankly, he's tired of waiting.

It's cute sometimes, that innocence of his. Most of the time, though, it gets annoying. Because acting like a blushing, stuttering maiden single-and-desperate-to-mingle can only spell trouble; trouble that Sousuke simply cannot allow to befall on his sworn lifelong bestie.

Taking a deep breath, Sousuke places his hands firmly on Rin's shoulders, determined to slap some sense into the boy's mind now hazy and clouded with love hormones. "You are going on a date at the hot springs with this guy, Rin. Or girl, whatever. The point is, you'll be spending some time _alone_ with some weirdo you met on the Internet, who may or may not be a serial psychotic killer, in a closed space while wearing nothing but a small towel covering your butt and your mini-me. How safe do you think that sounds?"

Rin almost chokes on his saliva at the last bit. Okay, Sousuke has a point there. But Rin isn't going to back out from this.

"I'm not twelve, Sou… I'll contact them first. Make sure that it's a real legit human and all that crap. Jeez, you're such a worrywart," Rin clucks his tongue in annoyance and heaves a long suffering sigh. And to think that he called Sousuke to come over and share his excitement. All he gets is a nagging substitute of his mom. Hell, even his _mom _doesn't fret this much.

Seeing that his overprotective friend isn't budging from the topic anytime soon, the redhead begins to re-open the laptop and fiddles around with it, all the while struggling to ignore Sousuke's pointed glare. "Alright, I'm checking their profile, see if there's any info… Ah, there's a name!" Unable to hide his enthusiasm, Rin bounces in his seat and leans forward, carefully scanning through mackerelisgood's profile. Sousuke shakes his head in defeat, but still curiously peeks over Rin's shoulder at the screen. "Nanase… Haruka. See, even the name sounds sweet! I'm sure she's just a cute, harmless girl."

"What makes you so sure it's a girl, though?"

"Ummm, the name, I guess? I mean, it's pretty girly to me."

Sousuke's eyebrows rise at that statement. He stares at Rin skeptically, willing to communicate his thoughts via his droopy teal eyes. Really, Rin? Girly name equals a girl? _Really?_

"Duuudeee, cut it out already. I'm born with this name, no need to rub the salt in my wound." Rin punches Sousuke's arm playfully, although it ends up harder than he intended it to be. He doesn't bother to apologise, because between them, nothing ever goes unforgiven anyway. Slowly, Rin leans forward, resting his head on top of his outstretched arm on the table, gazing dreamily at the bright screen. A small smile creeps up his face as he recalls the honey-coated comments that managed to set his heart aflutter. "Ah, I wonder what she'll be like…"

Sousuke scoffs, still staring in amusement as if Rin has magically grown another head. "Since when are you into girls, 'cause the last time I remembered, your first crush was a—"

"Boy, yes I know. Ugh, shut up, it was a one-time thing okay. I was just awed by his swimming, that's it."

"To the point of stalking him and trying to persuade your mom to let you change school? I don't think that's considered a 'one-time thing', Rin." Sousuke says. "Thank god your mom refused, or else you could've been into 'fencing swords' now, if you know what I mean."

As soon as the double entendre escapes Sousuke's mouth, Rin groans and covers his ears, face scrunched up in terror at the images running through his head. It's a given that he knows what it means –a teenager's curiousity knows no boundaries, and Google isn't exactly known for filtering out unwanted pictures and information. "Ewww, don't, just don't. Okay I'm sending mackerelisgood a PM. I'll tell you when I get a reply. And no thanks for that imagery, man, I'm gonna have nightmares tonight."

"More like wet dreams," Sousuke teases, poking Rin in the ribs once before making a beeline to the door.

"Piss off, Sou!"

* * *

><p>It's Tuesday, and Haruka is back at home early again.<p>

Rin doesn't specify the time when he'll announce the lucky winner, but Haruka cannot chase away the jumpiness and anxiety. Even if he doesn't win, he still feels satisfied knowing that Rin had _at least _scrolled down past his comment floating about. That at least, even though they're as far apart as one can imagine with close to zero chances of meeting face-to-face, Rin knows that he exists.

Today, Haruka gets more than what he bargained for.

When he gets notified that he's received a PM, Haruka freezes.

He hasn't uploaded any videos on his channel, and he's not planning to do so in the near future. The only videos he ever watch are those of SharkBoiUnleashed. Apart from that, he has zero interactions with any other YouTubers (he tried watching some other videos, but it seems that they're always either cats and dogs acting cute, people playing online games and freaking out, or boobs, and unsurprisingly, he has no interest in any of them) so it makes no sense whatsoever that someone would be interested in his account enough to actually leave a PM, whatever that acronym means.

At first, Haruka think it's better to ignore it; after all, Rei and Nagisa did warn him about spam (what has canned meat got to do with the Internet, he doesn't quite follow). But then, there's that tiny voice in his head that maybe this is important.

And he's right. It was a _life-changer_.

_From: SharkBoiUnleashed  
><em>_To: mackerelisgood_

_Hi there! I read your comments on the giveaway vid and umm, I think they're really nice. Thank you :) So... CONGRATULATIONS! You've won the contest! Before we set the date though, I kinda want to get to know you better... if you don't mind?_

He reads the message again and again, eyes scanning through each and every word, trying to comprehend what just happened. SharkBoiUnleashed has just talked to him. _Rin _has just talked to him. Rin –the rising star of YouTube, the boy whose videos Haruka had spent his whole week putting on repeat, the single person whom Haruka wants to meet but thought will never get to- has just _sent him a freaking message._

Haru loses the last remains of his ability to breathe.

It feels surreal, like a pleasant dream Haruka has while napping in the bathtub every morning that he knows he'll wake up from with a jerk whenever Makoto barges unannounced. This whole thing seemed impossible until just a second ago. Is this really happening? How?

And comments? Is that a _plural_ he's seeing?

With so many questions unanswered and so many feelings unnamed, Haruka lies in bed, clutching a pillow close to his chest, as if it can somehow help stuff back his heart that's now threatening to drop out. There's a weird twinge in his chest and uncomfortable turning of his stomach, the kind that people get before going up the stage, and his feet and hands feels cold and warm at the same time. He's heard of these before from friends who had went to a concert or a fan-meeting event with their favourite artists. Maybe it's a similar feeling. Maybe it's something different, something… deeper. Who knows.

He wants to watch Rin's new video, he really does -it's another episode of 101 Places for a Romantic Dates after all, and that means more water- but he simply can't bring himself to see Rin's face right now. Not when he knows that within a few days' time, he's going to see that exact flawless face, head-on. Touchable. Caressable. _Kissable_.

To top it all, they're going to visit the same hot springs that has been haunting Haruka ever since he read a review article about it in that secret magazine.

Staring at the ceiling with an unfocused gaze, Haruka swallows the lump forming in his throat. _Oh my god_, he thinks. _I'm going to meet Rin._

The whole night, he doesn't go to sleep.

* * *

><p>Haruka shows up at school looking like a starving zombie, much worse than he's ever been before, and this time <em>everyone <em>notices.

When Nagisa and Rei drop by his class during recess, they instantly point out the deep dark circles Haruka is sporting. "Haruka-senpai, your expression is akin to that of a goldfish that has fallen out of its aquarium. Which, I think is rather accurate considering that there are instances that made me question your true species…" Rei rambles on. "Ah, anyway! Are you fine?"

Haruka gives a tired nod, too worn out to give a glare; it's the fifteenth time someone asked him this today (thirteen times were by Makoto). "I got a PM on YouTube. What's a PM, by the way?"

"Private message, Haru-chan, duhhh!" Nagisa replies, giving his strawberry cone another lick before wolfing it down in one go like a paper shredder, munching noisily on the biscuit. He simply needs to hear about this. "Who is it from?" He asks.

For a while, Haruka contemplates whether he should share the big news. The outcome of this can only be either a shrieking apocalypse breaking out or Nagisa running around naked in the school compound from overexcitement. There is no in between.

Haruka glances at Makoto who's looking just as eager and curious as the other two, and that's when he decides for the hell of it.

"…. SharkBoiUnleashed," he answers.

"YOU GOT A MESSAGE FROM RIN?!" The trio shouted in unison, Nagisa's voice being the loudest. They crowd around Haruka, eyes wide and jaws hung open with disbelief. Luckily the class is void of people, or else the crowd would've been much bigger. Surely his female classmates would not hesitate in murdering him as brutally as possible for stealing their idol away.

"Yeah," Haruka answers nonchalantly, seemingly unfazed even though he himself has lost his shit yesterday. 'No one must know' can be his life motto now. "He said I won the contest. And that the comments were nice."

Nagisa, however, is unable to calm down anymore. "OH MY GOD. OH MY GODDD!" He shrieks, shaking his boyfriend's shoulders vigorously to the point of making Rei's red glasses drop off on one side. It's a wonder his head is still intact. "Rei-chan, can you believe it?! Holy crap! We did it!"

Looking at his friends' reactions (it's good that it resulted in a shrieking apocalypse because he's unsure Iwatobi High can handle a naked kid on the loose in midday), Haruka decides that it's high time to get his questions answered. "I remembered leaving one comment. When I checked, there were thirty-seven of them. How come? I don't understand. Do they multiply on their own?"

"You see, Haru-chan, when two YouTubers really love each other, the baby comments co—"

"Nagisa, don't lie to Haru like that!" Makoto scolds, petrified at the thought of Haruka believing Nagisa's nonsensical explanations. The guilt of lying to his best friend has been eating him from the inside for the past week, and now he's adamant that Haruka should know the truth. He can only hope that Haruka is too high up on cloud nine to get angry. "Haru, remember when I said I wanted to watch that private video?" He prompts.

"You mean the porn you used my account to watch with," Haruka states, giving Makoto that judging, apprehensive stink eye again.

"It wasn't porn! In fact, I didn't watch anything! I just went to Rei and Nagisa's class straightaway, and we kinda… _helped_ you, a little."

Colour drains from Rei's face as he pictures his most admired senior getting mad at him for hacking into his account. He can't let that happen! Who's going to teach him freestyle if not Haruka-senpai? "M-makoto-senpai, don't spill our secret!" he whines. But Makoto forges on, wanting to get the guilt off his chest.

"Halfway through, our hands got tired from typing too much, so Nagisa got a few of his friends to help… Some of the girls were eager, so yeah… We all just wanted to see you win, Haru." Makoto finishes, glancing at Haruka to gauge his reaction. After what seems to be a perpetual, awkward silence, Haruka speaks.

"Thanks, I guess."

Everyone sighs in relief. Haruka is not angry. That's great. But there's no doubt he'll be furious if they tell him that his account is still logged in on Makoto's phone which means they have free access to it at all times. As soon as Nagisa sees Makoto opening his mouth to blurt that out, he quickly changes the topic.

"So, when's the big day?"

"We haven't fixed the date yet. Rin says he wants to get to know me better first."

Nagisa sees a ray of hope. He's really getting into this whole matchmaking thing. Heck, he's so good at this he's already considering setting up an online dating service in the future. Haruka is hitting the jackpot if he gets it on with Rin, and he'll be the perfect testimony for Nagisa's efficiency. Clasping Haruka's hands in his, Nagisa looks up at his friend, bright magenta eyes glinting in fervor and mischief. "OH WE CAN TOTALLY HELP IF YOU NEED US TO—"

"_No_ thanks," Haruka quickly says, standing up to get his meal. Halfway across the class, he turns to Makoto, and there's an exchange of gazes before Haruka adds. "It's okay, Makoto. Just log-out from my account, now."

Sometimes Nagisa loathes the freaky telepathic connection those two share.

* * *

><p>Although he was hopeful at first, it turns out there's really not much that Rin can learn about mackerelisgood from the messages they exchanged for the past few days. Haruka hardly writes back anything longer than 5 words, and the answers are always to the point with not much details unless specifically asked. For example:<p>

_From: SharkBoiUnleashed  
><em>_To: mackerelisgood_

_So... Haru (or would you like me to call you Nanase?) First off, let's talk about interests. I personally LOVE watching movies, especially English ones! That's how I practise my pronunciations and stuff... Oh and I really enjoy swimming, too. Hby?_

_xxx_

_From: mackerelisgood  
><em>_To: SharkBoiUnleashed_

_I like water, art and mackerel. And Haru is fine._

Rin reasons that maybe she's just shy. All in all, he now knows that Haruka loves water, art and mackerel (surprise, surprise), and that she's a single child living alone in her family house. Other than that, Nanase Haruka is a complete mystery.

The whole mysterious admirer thing is so fucking cheesy, it makes Rin's heart race like the romantic loser he is.

Perhaps the most crucial fact that he managed to obtain from their conversation is that she (Rin is _still _convinced that it's a she, regardless of what Sousuke says) goes to Iwatobi High, the same school as Rin's younger sister, Gou. So they do have a hidden link, after all. But asking Gou to go on a stalker mode on Nanase Haruka is out of the question, because that will just ruin the surprise factor of their meeting. Besides, once Gou finds out about this, she'll definitely be nosing around and embarrassing him at every chance.

After Rin deems that they've graduated from being 'strangers', they finally set the date on the next weekend -seeing that it's the most convenient- and agrees to meet up at Iwatobi station before riding the train to Shin'onsen-cho, where Aikawa Hot Springs is located. To make meeting-up easier, Haruka provides her number, a _very _brief description of her appearance and a simple

_"I'll be wearing blue."_

* * *

><p>Today is <em>the day<em>.

Rin arrives at the station 15 minutes earlier, dressed in his coolest-looking shirt and the best style he can possibly set his hair in. He was torn between letting the locks down or tying them up, but considering that one of Haruka's comments did praise his hair's silkiness and Rin is currently dressing to impress, he decided that the natural look is the better choice.

With a bouquet of red carnation –which says 'my heart aches for you' & 'admiration' in flower language, nope, he did _not _just looked it up- hidden in one hand and a small duffel bag hanging on his shoulder, Rin waits patiently for his date to arrive.

Twenty minutes later, Rin is beginning to worry that he might've been stood up.

Thirty minutes later, Rin gets up from the bench and starts asking around.

Rin looks around and spots a boy standing with his back towards him, facing the escalators. Logically, he'd have seen Haruka if she happens to pass by, so Rin approaches him and gives a little tap. "Hi, excuse me. Have you seen a girl around? Black hair, blue eyes, blue dress… Kinda cute face I think-"

The boy turns around, and gasps.

"Rin," he breathes.

"Oh, umm. Yeah it's me. Do we… know each other?" Rin asks, puzzled. He frowns when the boy doesn't reply, clear blue eyes still staring at him with that strange expression. He looks almost… stunned, like he's just seen a hot babe and is frozen on the spot, breath taken away.

_Strange kid_, Rin thinks. _But he seems familiar…_

And that's when it hits him, harder than a piece of four pounds brick to the forehead.

Black hair. Blue eyes. Blue T-shirt.

Of course, he said "I'll be wearing blue", not exactly specifying what type of clothes. It was Rin who jumped to conclusions. It was him who _assumed._

You know what people say. Never assume, you'll make an ass out of u and me.

Eyeing the quiet boy in front of him from head to toe, whose eyes -though a beautiful shade of blue- are like two hollow depths of trapped ocean staring into Rin's soul, Rin still has that tiny ray of hope that he might've gotten the wrong person. That this boy is probably just another random guy who happens to watch his channel, and coincidentally shares the same characteristics as mackerelisgood.

"Nanase Haruka?" Rin asks, quirking his eyebrow questioningly. Okay, now he's aware that he does that eyebrow thing a lot.

The boy nods once.

"Oh, wow," Rin mutters under his breath, running his shaky hands through his perfectly combed and styled hair. Strands of silky maroon tresses slip out in a mess, but Rin can't be bothered to tuck it back in. Even the red carnation he's holding is beginning to wilt from the immense amount of awkwardness. "This is. Umm… unexpected."

Haruka continues to stare, and then with a swift motion, he reaches forward to softly tuck Rin's hair behind his ears, not giving a damn that they're two high school _boys_ in the middle of the day at a fairly busy train station. "Some fell out," he says bluntly, staying true to the talk-less nature of mackerelisgood that Rin knows of. Rin fights the crimson blush that spreads over his face like wildfire, wishing that there's a dark cave somewhere nearby that he can hide and curl up in.

Well, shit.

Rin just hates it when Sousuke is right.

* * *

><p>AN: I actually included screenshots of their YouTube PMs, since can't host images, do check them out on my AO3! I tried making their meeting moment as squeal-worthy as possible, tell me if that worked hahhha :P Thank you for the awesome response so far, guys! Reviews/favs/follows are greatly appreciated! :-*


	5. Dream Date

The train ride to Shin'onsen is awkward as hell.

Rin has heard of people describing situations like this, when two people are within vicinity of each other but not a single word is spoken. They describe the atmosphere as 'so thick you can cut it with a knife', though in his opinion, that's _nothing_ compared to this heavy, borderline painful silence hanging in the air. A week ago, in Rin's mind, Nanase Haruka was a sweet, shy girl (that will remain the single most embarrassing misconception he had ever done in his life) who loyally watches his YouTube videos on daily basis and is simply the most romantic person ever. Now, in the harsh reality, Nanase Haruka is this boy sitting next to him on a nearly empty train, equipped with zero communication skills and a perpetual blank expression on his not-bad face and damn it, is there really a need to sit that awfully close?!

Haruka doesn't seem to mind the lack of space between them, though, still wearing that undecipherable look and keeping quiet like there's gold in his mouth.

The crimson carnation bouquet from before lies wilting in his hand. Rin stares at it, not knowing what to do with the living proof of his idiocy. Should he give it to Haruka? A boy giving a bunch of flowers that spells out 'admiration' to another boy he has only met a moment ago just _screams _homoromantic. But there's hardly anyone in their coach, and it's not like he can keep it anyway. It's a shame if such beautiful flowers go to waste.

Sousuke's words come to his mind, and Rin sighs. He just hopes the guy isn't allergic to pollens, or something.

"Hey, umm. I got this for you, actually," Rin says, fidgeting in his seat and turning to face Haruka. The instance Haruka looks up, Rin thrusts the flowers into his face in one swift motion. "Y-you can have it, if you want."

Haruka looks genuinely taken aback for a brief moment, before his expression morphs into a mixture of shock and delight. He takes the offered bouquet gently and brings it close to his nose to give it a sniff, closing his eyes for a second. When he reopens them, they're gleaming a brilliant shade of blue. "They're red like your eyes, Rin," he says. "I like it." There's a faint hint of a smile playing on Haruka's lips. Rin swears that he can see freaking rainbows and shit in the background.

_Screw this._

Protagonist giving flowers to his love interest? Check. Love interest sniffing the flowers and smiling shyly? Check. Sitting side by side with knees brushing lightly? Check. Going on a first date? Half check.

It's like a scene straight from the cheesiest romance movies he can ever find. It's a dream come true, and Rin is lying if he says that he doesn't fucking love it.

Rin is torn between shuffling closer to Haruka and snuggling up to him or getting as far away as possible, preferably jumping off the train onto the railway while he's at it. He settles for a curt nod instead, and plugs in his music player, turning it up so he can drown out the distracting ringing heartbeats in his ears.

Sensing that no further conversation is going to take place, Haruka wordlessly goes back to whatever he was doing before –which was staring silently at the sceneries rushing by - only this time with a bouquet of red carnations (wait, how the hell did the flowers become fresh again?) resting nicely on top of his lap.

The train continues to roll down the San'in line, and throughout the journey, Rin sneaks a glance at him once. Twice. On the third, their eyes meet.

Rin feels his heart stop. He quickly shifts his gaze towards something else, pretending to appear unaffected.

The furious blush on his cheeks gives him away.

* * *

><p>Aikawa Hot Springs is a 10-minutes' walk away from Hamasaka Station, located a fair distance from the hustles and bustles of the busier parts of Shin'onsen. Regarded as one of the best onsen in the area (and Shin'onsen, as the name indicates, has <em>many, many <em>onsen to choose from), the place is constantly lively and filled with visitors. Matsuoka is a household name here, being one of their long-time customers. Haruka watches in amazement as the workers all greet Rin cheerfully, bowing in utmost respect and welcome when they pass by.

Since this is meant to be a date of some sort, Rin has made several special requests for his reservation in his enthusiasm to make it as romantic as possible. Apart from booking the best room that boasts beautiful décor and fantastic view from the balcony, he's also ordered the most delicious meals prepared by his favourite chef, even specifically asking for the freshest mackerel they can get. _Nothing but the finest for Miss Nanase,_ as Rin recalls telling the manager.

_Mister _Nanase it is, now.

Rin admits, he _may_ have bragged over the phone to them a little about his date, and some of the female staffs were more than eager to help make it the best date ever. Here's the little boy they've doted on for the past few years whenever his family comes on a vacation, and now that he is a handsome young man old enough to bring his own sweetheart, it's understandable that they would want to be involved. Strangely though, when he struts in with a guy instead, all of them started grinning creepily, some even giggling among themselves without bothering to hide their glee, much to Rin's dismay.

Sometimes Rin wonders how many people out there thinks he swings that way. Is it the mid-length hair? Or maybe it's the ankle bracelet… shit, he might have to stop wearing that.

They provide him with the largest room in the far end of the hallway, isolated from the rest of the visitors. As he takes the keys, Rin battles the hue of scarlet that's spreading over his cheeks at the realization that yes, they have just given him the freaking _honeymoon suite_.

"I've been wondering for a while, Haru… I don't see you bringing any bags. Do you have spares to change into? I mean, after the hot bath, of course," Rin asks as they're settling down in the tatami-mat room, curiousity getting the better of him. The room-maid has just left after making sure that everything is in place, leaving behind the customary tea and confections for them to enjoy.

"I brought swimsuits," Haruka replies plainly, gesturing towards his black backpack that lies flat on the floor next to the sliding door. The bag is small, small enough that at least three of it can easily fit into Rin's much larger duffel bag. Rin waits for him to continue explaining, but he doesn't. It's as if he honestly is of opinion that hogging your swimsuits along wherever you go is the most natural thing on Earth.

"Ooookaaay… But we're not swimming, so why would you bring those?"

"For the bath. I bathe with my swimsuits on."

Rin blinks. "You're kidding, right?"

At this point, Rin knows better than to expect to see Haruka burst out laughing; it's basically impossible. Rin has tried making lame jokes on the train, just to lighten up the mood a bit, but it resulted in a few humiliating moments that made him want to smash his face onto the ground in hopes that the pain could wash the shame away. The guy's emotion is extremely difficult to evoke, and true enough, Haruka's only answer is an unamused glare.

"Oh my god, you're not kidding," Rin mutters under his breath. An image of scowling Haruka sitting in the hot bath with a swimsuit covering his nether regions pops up in his head, and Rin has to cough out loud to fight the incoming chuckles. "Uhhhh, okay, cool. What about other clothings? Shirt, pants, underwear…?"

Haruka looks up from the tea he's pouring. "I have one set."

At least he still has common sense. Rin isn't too sure he can tolerate a half-naked Haruka walking around the room wearing only a scanty swimsuit. Worse still, he doesn't even know if it's the proper thigh-and-calves-covering one or just a piece of triangle concealing what matters most (his junk obviously).

If Haruka pulls out a freaking speedo from his bag later, Rin will probably faint on the spot.

Just as his naughty mind starts to conjure some rather _interesting _pictures, he finds a hand waved in front of his face. Apparently, he's been staring into space for a while now, seeing as Haruka is already sitting cross-legged across the table, two cups of piping hot green tea and a plate of steaming manju in front of them. The sweet smell of red bean-jam slowly fills the air. Noticing that Rin's attention is on him, Haruka reaches into his bag and rummages around to take out one small container with an attached spoon.

"Pudding," Haruka says before Rin can ask. "You want some?"

Rin shakes his head, offering a polite smile instead. "No thanks, I don't like sweet stuff."

In a split second, Haruka's face turns gloomy. He looks crestfallen, like he's disappointed in himself. "Oh. My bad. I forgot about that," he says.

"Yeah it's fine… Wait, forgot? What do you mean, 'forgot', how would you know in the first place?"

"Your videos," Haruka answers, nonchalantly taking one spoonful of the caramel goodness and popping it in. "You talked about it once, in one of your vlogs."

"You remembered? Why would you remember such things…"

"Of course I do. I've watched all of your videos a couple of times."

As soon as Haruka realizes the things he's accidentally said, he casts his eyes downwards, face turning a lovely shade of pink. He has just admitted that he's fanboy. A sick, stalkerish, obsessed fanboy. And to the person he's obsessing about, no less. The reaction causes Rin to blush as well, his thoughts going back to the comments Haruka has left about him and how this whole thing is making him feel oh so special.

"T-thank you… You know, for the support, and everything," Rin croaks out.

Haruka goes back to eating. Rin goes back to staring.

_Awkward silence_.

Rin peeks at Haruka who is still busy shoveling the food down his throat. For someone who claims he eats mackerel, and _only _mackerel, he's eating quite an amount, from what Rin has observed. It must be pretty good. "How is it?" He asks shyly.

"What?"

"The pudding. How does it taste like?"

Haruka shrugs, just a barely noticeable movement of his shoulders. "Like pudding. Sweet. You've never tasted one before?"

"I think I did, back in the elementary school. But I stopped eating sugary food once I got into the swim team… You know, keeping fit and all that."

Upon hearing the word 'swim', Haruka's eyes sparkle, having a different glint to it. He looks almost… excited. Which is an emotion he's rarely associated with. He goes silent for a while before scooping up a bit of the pudding and, to Rin's utter surprise, holds it out in front of Rin's mouth.

"Wanna try?" He offers, cool as a cucumber. Rin, on the other hand, is _this _close to spontaneously combusting and exploding into thousands of little pieces, because Nanase freaking Haruka is offering to _spoon-feed _him for god's sake, and surely that will count as an indirect kiss, right?

Bracing himself for the heart-attack that's sure to come after, Rin leans over the table and chomps down on the spoon. The pudding's texture feels foreign on his tongue –soft, fluffy and kinda melts-in-your-mouth- but the taste is like a burst of flavours, a wide range of sweetness that leaves a pleasant feeling. To put it simply, it tastes like paradise.

"Ugh, it's too sweet!" Rin comments, licking his lips to rid of any caramel leftovers. "But it's really good. Where'd you get this?"

"Makoto gave it to me."

"Well, you have to send my love to this Makoto girl because this is one _amazing _food."

"Makoto's a boy."

Rin stiffens. "Ohh_._ Sorry._" _Wrong assumption, again. He definitely should just shut up now.

"Want some more?" Haruka asks, hand already poised in front of Rin with yet another spoonful of the heavenly dessert, and really, how can Rin say no to that?

Spoon-feeding each other like a helplessly lovestruck couple? _Check._

* * *

><p>It's all sunshine and rainbows so far, but the dilemma comes when it's time for the main event of the day: the hot bath.<p>

Since he thought that Haruka is a girl, the private open-air ofuro was never meant to be used. It's just the perks of being a loyal customer; always getting the best services, and sometimes extra even when not requested. The initial plan is for them to go into the gender-segregated public baths, have delicious meals together, maybe go for sightseeing a bit (while wearing their yukata, how romantic is that!), and then return to Iwatobi hopefully before the last train departs.

"Public bath, or private?" Rin asks. A part of him wishes that Haruka would choose the public one, then they can enter it together without having to feel awkward or self-conscious.

"Private," Haruka decides without hesitation.

"You're a shy one, huh?" Rin ribs, grinning teethily and giving a little playful shove to Haruka's side. Haruka doesn't seem perturbed by the teasing, though. Damn, the guy really needs to get that stick out of his ass and learn to loosen up a bit. "Well then, Haru, I present to you… Aikawa Hot Springs!"

Rin's hand barely manages to slide the transparent door leading to the bath open when a dark shadow flashes pass him at the speed of a ninja assassin, jumping into the pool of warm water without delay. Some of the hot water splashes onto his T-shirt and pants, soaking through it and making it cling onto his skin. Rin hisses.

What the _hell_ was that?

Wincing at the slight burn, Rin realizes that the lighting-quick silhouette was indeed Haruka, who has just stripped down within a matter of seconds and is now happily lounging in the wide rectangular onsen tub. At first, Rin avoids looking at him, dreading that he's probably butt-naked in there, but once the fog clears up, Rin can see the outline of his dark swimsuit.

Thank _god_.

"You were wearing your swimsuit the whole time?!"

Haruka answers with a nod, half of his face buried underneath the surface of the water. Bubbles arise and pop alternatingly, and he closes his eyes in bliss. Seeing the scene that fits just like his imagination earlier (and again, thank god for no speedos), Rin can't resist letting out an amused laughter.

"Is this how you always act around water?"

Haruka slowly emerges from the water to reply, albeit reluctantly. "Yes. Water calls for me, and I answer. It's that simple."

"You're quite the funny guy, aren't you Haru?" Rin says, spending a few final seconds staring at Haruka's figure (okay, so perhaps that's a _little _gay, but what else is there to do when an attractive half-naked boy is bathing in front of you?) before grabbing a towel from the rack and heading towards the door. "I'll be going, then. Enjoy your bath."

"Wait, Rin. Where are you going?"

"Umm, the rotenburo. Why?"

"You're not bathing here?"

Rin is affirmative that he must be doing the eyebrow thing now. Bathing _here_, in the same tub as him? Is Haruka crazy, or does he not grasp the sense of privacy? Besides, Rin has a hunch that some _other problems _might arise if he stays around any longer. "Well, since you're using it, I can't be intruding on you… It's fine, really. The public one is cozy too," he reasons.

"You can stay. There's enough space for both of us." To prove his point, Haruka scoots over to the edge of the tub, bringing his knees close to his chest. He rests his head on top of them and gives a bashful, once-over glance at Rin before looking away, mumbling a faint "we can… talk. For a bit."

Rin's resolution instantly crumble into tiny fragments and he caves in to his inner demons that are begging for him to stay. "Alright, if you insist."

* * *

><p>Predictably, they barely talk much anyway throughout the brief hours spent together in the hot bath. It's not that Rin doesn't want to, he knows that if he asks the right questions, they can start a decent conversation, but he just doesn't have the heart to disturb Haruka who seems to be entirely entranced by the comfort and contentment the bath provides. Rin watches fondly as Haruka nearly dozes off a couple of times, too captivated by the relaxing ambience.<p>

They exit the bath afterwards and change into the inn's yukata -a midnight blue for Haruka and a dark grey for Rin. The rest of the day goes by in a flash. Food is wonderful and worth every yen; Haruka isn't kidding when he says he loves mackerel, gobbling up the mackerel fillets like a lost traveler who hasn't eaten for days while Rin looks on in incredulity.

They have a few hours left, so Rin shows him around the small town, all the while recording the places they stop at on his video camera. Rin fights the urge to squeal whenever their hands brush in the crowd, or when Haruka grabs onto his pinky lightly just so he doesn't get lost. As the sun is setting, they take a casual stroll in the park nearby and pass by a huge cherry blossom tree, which unfortunately isn't blooming.

"It's beautiful," Haruka breathes, voice a soft whisper. He places his hands on the trunk, caressing the rough bark in awe. "I feel like drawing it."

Rin stares at him, astounded. "Wait, you draw?"

Haruka replies with a shrug. "Told you I like art."

"Yeah, but you didn't tell me you _do _art. I thought you meant the 'admire paintings in the gallery' kind of like."

"Hmm," Haruka looks up, staring longingly at the naked branches of the tree. "I wonder how it looks like when in full bloom."

Rin almost makes a promise that they'll come here again in spring, but he doesn't want to make a promise he's not sure he can keep.

* * *

><p>They return to the inn just before it gets dark. When it's time to check out, the rain is heavily pouring outside, drops pitter-pattering loudly on the rooftop.<p>

"What?" Haruka is waiting patiently at the main entrance when he hears the shriek coming from Rin. "What do you mean, the train is not working?!"

The receptionist struggles to calm Rin down, who is currently having some sort of a nervous breakdown, hands gripping at the counter's edge to the point of his knuckles turning white. They're supposed to check out and return the keys, but it seems that some problem has cropped up. Concerned, Haruka approaches them stealthily, wanting to find out what all the fuss is about.

"It is just as I have said, Matsuoka-sama… The train service is currently halted after they found a suspicious package in one of the San'in Main Line trips. The only information the police has disclosed is that the suspects who left it there are two high school students, one blonde and the other blue-haired," she explains, and Haruka perks up at the descriptions, which so happen to be eerily similar to the two boys he knows too well… Coincidence? He thinks not. Haruka makes a mental note to have a word or two with them when he returns. "We are sorry about this, too. But the rain is not letting up anytime soon, so for your safety, I would advise you to spend the night here."

Hearing that, Haruka senses something stir inside him. Today has been perfect. Rin is exactly like everything he's imagined every time he watches his videos –charming, lively, and freaking adorable, especially when he thinks no one is looking. There are times when Rin gets on his nerves though, like his persistence in getting Haruka to eat the vegetable side-dishes (they still taste horrible regardless of the cooking), but Haruka truly enjoys the short time they spent together. So much so that when Rin told him that it's time to leave, he felt a strange pang in his chest.

Once they've gone back, they'll go separate ways. They will regress to just being a famous YouTuber and his faithful subscriber, nothing more, nothing less.

Haruka will still go home early on Tuesdays and click on SharkBoiUnleashed's latest upload. He will still watch it more than once, run his fingers carefully over the screen, tracing the outline of Rin's face –a habit he doesn't even notice he has picked up- and struggling to understand the waves of _feelings _that wash over him each time Rin laughs. And all that he'll have left is the memory of spending that day at the hot springs with Rin, and the sketches lie hiding in his books.

Haruka realizes that he isn't ready to say goodbye yet.

(Haruka remembers what goodbye feels like. When Grandma passed away, he cried. Cried and cried for days, because he's young and afraid, of the bottomless hollow so suddenly carved onto his heart, of the loneliness and unfathomable void that haunts him. When his parents left for Tokyo, he didn't cry anymore. He's bigger then, the loneliness doesn't affect him as much. But he still hates that feeling. He wants to forget, but he can't, so he keeps away from getting too attached to people because he knows that one day, everyone will say goodbye. Makoto, Nagisa, Rei… Everyone.

And now, Rin.)

Rin clucks his tongue and musses his hair in frustration. Not noticing Haruka who is now standing right behind him, he groans. "Shit, but we need to go back—"

"I don't mind..." Haruka mutters, catching Rin off guard.

"You what?"

Haruka looks at Rin, gaze unwavering. "I don't mind, staying the night with you."

* * *

><p>AN: I got caught up writing for HaruRinHaru Xmas Exchange so forgive me for taking so long. Hope it's worth the wait? Sometimes I think that there's too much fluff thrown in here but then again, you can never have enough fluff :P If the cliffhanger gives you pervy ideas, well, clearly you've been reading too many explicit fics! I'm keeping this T, but if you guys want a dirty spin-off or something, I can work on that hahah *wiggles eyebrows* Reviews/favs/follows are appreciated!


	6. Goodbye

It's almost ten when Rin finally relents and agrees to stay, and they return to the room to find two set of futon already neatly laid out side by side on the floor.

Somewhere in Iwatobi, Haruka knows that Makoto must be worried sick, pacing back and forth in front of his house while frantically trying to dial Haruka's number. Clearly no one is going to pick up the call, because his phone is currently lying in its natural habitat that is the bottom of his shelf, behind the mountain of stacked books and stationeries, left there to collect dust ever since the last time he used it to contact Rei. A cellphone is nothing but an extra weight in his pocket, another technology that Haruka believes he can surely live without.

(That's what he said about the laptop, too, but things took a 360° turn after Haruka's 'Great YouTube Discovery', and now laptop is in the list of _'Quite Useful Technologies'_ along with rice cooker and griller. Not that he'll ever admit that in front of anyone.)

Still, he feels bad about it. Makoto doesn't deserve this much of stress and anxiety burdened upon him, especially after he had reminded Haruka time and again to carry his phone around.

"Hey Rin, can I borrow your phone?"

Rin barely hears Haruka's question from where he's changing his clothes in the bathroom, but he shouts back a reply nonetheless. "Sure, it's in my bag, there's a little pocket on the right."

"Thanks," Haruka scours the bag and pulls out a black cellphone, sighing in relief at the fact that it's not one of those slide-to-unlock touchscreen ones that come with intricate pattern swipings which Haruka never manages to make sense of. He punches in the numbers he's come to memorize with little difficulty. The call connects at the first ring. "Makoto? It's me."

"Haruuuu! Where have you been?" Makoto starts to wail in his typical mother-hen fashion. "I was so afraid that you've lost your way, or that a bad guy has kidnapped you, or you changed into a merman and fled into the sea—"

"Makoto, calm down," Haruka sighs. Only Makoto would come up with such paranoid thinking. Merman? Hah, he wishes. If he could turn into one he would've done so a long time ago. "I'm not coming back tonight, the train stopped."

"Yes, I heard that from the news, wanted to make sure you're safe 'cause I heard someone left a bomb or something on the train… Lots of people were trapped inside, I'm glad you're not on it, Haru! But you know, Nagisa and Rei just came back. They were kinda breathless when they ran to my house from the station but they wouldn't talk to me about it," Makoto suddenly pauses, frowning as he tries to make the connection. Haruka gives him the time to do so, because pointing it out just spoils the fun. After a short while, Makoto gasps in apprehension. "Wait. It's them, isn't it."

Haruka shrugs despite being miles away. "The usual," he says.

The line goes into noisy statics and sounds of the things clattering around, followed by Makoto yelling out Nagisa and Rei's names in his signature Mamakoto voice.

"M-Mako-chan, it was just a joke! I never thought they'd really think it's a—ah, I'm sorry I'm sorry AAAHHH-!" Nagisa's shrill call for help resounds from the receiver, and it doesn't take much effort for Haruka to imagine how the situation must look like. All hell breaking loose, probably. It's tremendously tough to incur Makoto's anger… but once he starts, no one survives his wrath, ever.

Rest in pieces, Nagisa, Rei.

Rin appears just as Haruka hangs up, drying his maroon hair with a towel and dressed in a fresh cotton yukata. When Rin said he wanted to change, Haruka thought that he was going to sleep in loose T-shirt or some kind of tanktop, not a yukata that fits snugly on his frame. It's not that Rin looks bad in the yukata. The problem is, he looks good. _Too_ good. Perfect, even.

As Rin comes closer, Haruka can vaguely catch a whiff of whatever it is that he uses on his skin. It's a tad bit too fragrant for his liking, but it's still _Rin's scent._

Matsuoka Rin, the real thing in flesh and bones, is going to lie next to him tonight. They're going to spend the next few hours falling asleep to each other's heart beats and breaths, skin inches away from touching, scents intermingling till they can't tell when Rin's start and where Haruka's end, and that's some seriously sappy stuff right there but _oh god_. Just thinking of it is making him teeter on the borders of insanity.

Rin crawls under his futon with just the subtlest dust of pink across his cheeks, looking at everywhere but the other occupant of the room. Haruka can't blame him; it's really a strange feeling, being together like this.

"All done for the night?" Rin asks from his side, hand ready to flick the light switch.

Haruka clutches the comforter a little tighter, pulling it up till his chin. "Yeah," he answers.

"Yeah. Okay. Uhh, goodnight."

The lights go off.

Haruka is at first convinced that he's making the right decision by agreeing to spend a night at the inn. It's the only seemingly logical and acceptable way he can get to spend more time with Rin. Perhaps they can have some pillow talk and open up to each other a bit more during the night, get close and familiar enough that Rin would like to meet up again sometime in the future. A boy can hope. What's there to lose?

His sleep, apparently.

"Rin," Haruka groans, driven up the wall by the incessant rustles coming from the other futon laid next to his that have been going on for the past forty minutes. "Stop tossing and turning."

The moment his complaint echoes throughout the room, the aggravating noises instantaneously stop.

"Sorry," Rin's meek apology comes. He turns around for what Haruka direly wishes to be the last time before gradually falling into a peaceful silence. The low hum of the running water fountain in the room's little balcony is almost like a lullaby, sending Haruka into the slumber he very much needs.

But not for long.

"Haru, you asleep yet?" Rin asks, voice a clearer whisper now that he's lying on his back, staring at the ceiling fan that spins round and round in a hypnotical rhythm. Haruka reaches for the extra pillow that lies by his side and uses it to smother his face in hopes of filtering out the unwanted disturbances. He does not want to answer. He _will not _give a reply. Who in their sane minds would ask a sleeping person if he's asleep, anyway?

More swooshing and swishing. A long, suffering sigh. Some gnawing of teeth.

After the twenty-sixth time Rin turns on his side (yes he counted), Haruka has had enough. "I would be, if you could stop moving around like you're itching somewhere," he says.

His temporary roommate, however, is blind to the frustration evident in his tone, and instead is more interested to point out "Whoa, that's like, the longest sentence you've ever said!"

It's a wonder how Rin manages to coax out so many emotions from him in just one day. Amazed, captivated, entranced, excited, even melancholic. And now, freaking irritated beyond belief.

"Go to _sleep_, Rin," he grits out.

Said boy simply laughs, albeit sounding awkward and forced. "You see… that's the problem. Trust me, I really want to, but I can't. There's a rather good reason why I planned a day trip and not an overnight stay," he goes quiet, probably to add an element of suspense that Haruka really has no mood to deal with in his sleep-deprived state right now. "I can't sleep. Without my pillow," Rin finally explains.

That's it? Haruka doesn't see the problem at all. "You could've just brought it along."

"And let the whole world see? Haruka, it's the same pillow I've been using since I was, what, five maybe. It doesn't even _look _like a pillow anymore. I can't be carrying it around, and it won't fit in the bag," Rin huffs. "But it's comfortable. Smells like home."

Haruka doesn't expect to hear that coming from a teenage boy whose mere flash of sculpted abs is enough to make panties drop. Rin's body-fat percentage is probably non-existent. He's like a mass of just meat and bones covered in sinewy muscles and glowing skin. But Haruka supposes that even someone as cool as Rin can have a childish side to him, and that makes him all the more cute and endearing.

Noticing the lack of response, Rin turns to see Haruka's shoulders shaking lightly and his hands covering his mouth. The bastard is _laughing_ at him. "Are you making fun of me?" He's not pouting, nope.

Haruka coughs into his fist and looks away, putting back on a straight face. He glances at the clock on the table. _1.45 A.M._ Damn, he definitely could use some sleep, pronto. "No, I'm just thinking of how to get you to sleep," he says, pondering for a moment. After some time, he asks. "Is it hard?"

Rin makes a sound akin to a strangled cat choking on milk. Maybe worse.

"W-what is?!" He cries out petrified, eyes open wide like the guy has just suggested that they make-out (which isn't that bad of an idea, come to think of it). His mind is lost in the gutter with no hopes of coming back up, thanks to that vague question.

"Your pillow. Is it the hard kind, or is it fluffy?"

Oh, of course. _Of course _it's the pillow. What else can it be?

_Your little friend down under_, a voice that sounds eerily Sousuke supplies at the back of his mind. Rin groans.

"Jeez, warn me before saying something like that… In the middle, I guess. It's pretty sturdy back then but now it just kinda sinks in when I lay my head on it. Still comfy like hell, though."

"Hmm."

The quietness returns, and now Rin is honestly contemplating if their relationship -if it can even be called one- will perpetually be haunted by the Curse of Silence. Maybe this is how it's going to be, if you have Nanase Haruka on the other end of the scale.

"I can be your pillow for tonight," Haruka suddenly says, turning over to rest his head on his arm and stare into Rin's eyes, deep blue orbs earnest and bright even under the dim light.

Rin wants to be killed.

He wants to be slaughtered, obliterated. God, just send any one to slit his throat or shoot him in the face right now, before this blue-eyed monster gets to kill him with his unintentional, awkward serenading that never fails to deal a one-hit KO damage. Haruka looked so charming saying that line which even A-class Hollywood actors don't ever use to pick up women, and here Rin is, falling for it harder than he imagined he could.

He wants to accept, but at the same time he doesn't, because rooming together is already strange but this? This is getting too fucking weird.

"I seriously doubt your arm makes a good surface to sleep on," he retorts, tone cracking at the end.

"You'll never know until you try."

Okay, Haruka has a point.

Biting the inside of his cheek to counter the distress, Rin slowly inches closer, and closer, until half of his body lies on Haruka's futon and the other half on his own. There're a couple inches more that separate him and that heavenly, heavenly space between Haruka's outstretched arm and his warm, inviting body. With a final push, he crosses over and falls on top of Haruka's chest, arms and legs tangled in the layers of comforter.

Rin's head fits right into the crook of Haruka's neck, and the yukata they're wearing emit rustlings when the fabric grazes against one another. Haruka breathes in, and Rin's head rise along with the movement of his chest.

They are cuddling. Freaking _cuddling_.

It takes Rin five seconds to let it sink in, and less than a second later to grow red in the face, neck, chest, arms, legs, everywhere, he's getting warm all over and his skin is tingling from the faintest touch but gosh, it's just _so nice._ His beloved pillow is still the best, though.

"I take it back. This is kinda nice," He lies. It's not a kinda, it's a hella. "I can't believe I'm doing this. We barely know each other. We're practically strangers. Why am I sleeping next to, no wait, _on _you?"

"Because you didn't bring your pillow and you were being pissy about it."

"Yeah, well. How would I know you're not going to stab me in my sleep, or something?"

"I won't," Haruka replies, squirming a bit to adjust his hand position, causing Rin to lift his head just a little to give space. Rin figures he's bound to do that a lot throughout the night, lest he gets a dead arm. "You trust me," Haruka states, sounding almost smug.

Rin doesn't have a comeback this time. "I do. That's the scary part, Haru. I think I trust you a little too much."

And his last passing thought before falling asleep was that maybe, that isn't bad at all.

* * *

><p>Thankfully, waking up isn't as horrific as he thought it would be. Their faces end up terrifyingly close, obviously, but still, nothing that warrants a panicky Freaky Friday-ish morning scene. That can also be attributed to the fact that Haruka is like a dead carrot early in the morning; unresponsive, expressionless and silent (also known as Haruka-default-mode). Checking out of the inn is still a pain, what with the creepy, knowing grins the female workers are throwing at him, but in the end, they make it out alive.<p>

Date accomplished. Ten points for Matsuoka.

"Makoto is coming to fetch me," Haruka speaks when they're in the train, once again sitting in what Rin normally considers encroaching on his personal space. Still, after last night -which undoubtedly is going down in the books as the closest he's ever been in another person's proximity- Rin thinks he may have to reassess what personal space boundaries are to him anymore.

"Okay," he hums, for lack of better reply. The Iwatobi station is fastly approaching, the train slowing down to a stop. They're getting off the train and heading for the exit when Rin finally brings the topic up again. "You guys must be really close, huh?" He asks. Great, now he sounds like a jealous boyfriend.

"We're childhood friends," Haruka tells, trailing behind Rin as they pass through the fare gates. "I can't remember life without him around. He's just… there."

"Hah, same goes for Sousuke and me. Can't really imagine how my life would've been if he wasn't around. Though I don't think he's coming to fetch m- you know what, never mind. He's here."

Standing by the station's signboard are Sousuke and this other dude, whose height is impressively only a few centimeters shorter, built nearly as buff as Sousuke himself. Rin squints his eyes at the pair. They seem to be engaging in a rather pleasant conversation, and that gives him quite the shock because hardly anyone can talk to Sousuke like that; certainly not some stranger on the streets.

"Makoto!" Haruka calls out casually. The guy talking to Sousuke pauses in the midst of saying something to beam at them, waving happily.

Grabbing onto Haruka's arm a little bit harder than intended to, Rin pulls him to the side to whisper harshly. "Wait this is Makoto? The one who gave you the pudding?" He casts another not-so-secretive glance at the tall and broad olive-haired man standing next to Sousuke and cringes. "He's fucking huge! I expected someone, someone _smaller_! And more docile!"

Haruka ignores Rin's overreactions and proceeds to drag him along to where the two tall boys await. When he comes to a stop right in front of them (and heck, these people make him feel so vertically challenged), Rin has no choice but to offer an introduction.

"Matsuoka Rin, nice to meet you," he utters, trying his best to look confident. No, it's not because Makoto is Haruka's friend and he has the urge to appear worthy of Haruka's love. Shut up.

"Tachibana Makoto. Nice to finally meet you, face-to-face at least! I'm a fan of yours as well, Matsuoka-kun," Makoto gushes, bowing down excitedly and smiling at him with a radiance that rivalled sunshine. Rin feels like he's transported to a field of freshly blooming sunflowers. He almost tears up.

What an angel. Rin can't help wanting to protect this precious child from any harm in the world. _Now_ the sweet caramel pudding fits Makoto's image perfectly.

"Please, just Rin will do. Oh yeah, I see you've met Sousuke…?"

Upon reminded of Sousuke's presence, Makoto's face immediately flushes a lovely crimson, the tips of his ears turning redder with each passing second. He peeks shyly at Sousuke and averts his gaze just as quick. Rin realizes that prior to their arrival, Sousuke has most likely unleashed some of his embarrassing dirty jokes, or worse, his Googled pick-up lines.

"Ah, yes, well—umm, w-we-"

"Talked quite a bit, didn't we, Tachibana-kun?" Sousuke cuts in, hand casually reaching out to rest on top of Makoto's shoulder, squeezing a little. Makoto flinches at the touch, but seems to have melted right away, if the bashful smile on his face is any indication. _Sou you lucky smooth asshole_, Rin begrudgingly thinks. "So, Rin, this Haru-chan you've been harping on the whole week… where's she?"

She? What she… _Oh._

Rin's face pales as he recalls how he had so assuredly claimed that Nanase Haruka is a girl. Slowly, he hooks his arm around Sousuke's neck and turns them around to shield their conversation from the other duo. "Okay, Sou. Here's the thing: I fucked up. You were right, he's a boy. You win. I'll buy you anything, if you promise to not embarrass me in front of them."

Rin doesn't have to look to know that Sousuke is wearing a triumphant, shit-eating grin on his face. Or a 'told you so' face. Maybe both.

"Anything?"

"Anything."

"Deal," Sousuke agrees, before walking back towards the black-haired boy. "I'm Yamazaki Sousuke," he glares down.

"Nanase Haruka," Haruka glares back, and when Sousuke's teal eyes clash with his own electric blue, the tension in the air rises exponentially.

They stare wordlessly at each other, neither backing down from the contest. Sousuke is aware that Haruka is the one who has swept all of Rin's attention away from him, and frankly, it's very infuriating. What's so special about this kid, anyway?

Reading the heavy atmosphere, Makoto chuckles uncomfortably and begins to tug on his friend's arm. "Uhhh, Haru… I think we better get going now…"

Haruka doesn't budge at first, but then Sousuke breaks the gaze by stepping aside, letting Rin pass. Seeing the redhead standing in front of him seems to have snap Haruka out of his stupor. He frowns.

It's time.

"I guess that's it, huh," Rin mutters lowly, the ground suddenly becoming a thousand-fold more interesting than it has ever been before. Look, that's an ant carrying a piece of biscuit crumb. How cute. Not cute enough to fend away the painful heaviness in his chest, nevertheless.

"Yeah," Haruka says. _Can't we stay together a little longer? _His mind screams. _Can we please not say goodbye?_

Rin takes a step closer, leans in forward. He hesitates for an instant, then wraps his arms around Haruka, engulfing the boy in a smothering hug. His hands linger a wee bit too long on the small of Haruka's back for it to be merely a friendly hug, but neither say anything, just feeling the warmth of the embrace, savouring it while it lasts.

Haruka is the first to pull away, mostly because his heartbeat is getting so fast and loud, he's afraid Rin would hear it. "Take care, Rin," he whispers.

_Don't go_. _Don't leave. _"You too," Rin replies.

One hand raised up in a small wave, Haruka takes a step backwards, still facing Rin and Sousuke, then another, and then finally, he turns to dash towards Makoto who's gone ahead and now waiting at the exit. The two walk away in their own pace, and when Haruka finally disappears round the corner, Rin heaves a lamenting sigh. Wow, now there're twigs in his eyes. Sharp, prickly twigs, poking at his eyeballs and making them burn and secrete fluid which he refuses to admit as tears.

Falling for a person he barely knew online… How pathetic can he get?

"Calling dibs on the green eyed," Sousuke suddenly says, glazed teal orbs still staring into the space where Haruka and Makoto were last seen, mouth slightly agape.

Rin snorts. Well, at least certainly not more pathetic than this guy.

* * *

><p>AN: Okay so I had a lot of things going on last week, had my birthday on 13th Dec (yay!), then sat for driving license test, etc... Which is why I couldn't reply to your wonderful reviews. But honestly, the response to this fic has been overwhelming, and I thank everyone for that! Hope you don't mind a lil Soumako side-dish! :P

Review, please! Feel free to scold me for writing the goodbye scene that way hahah :') Let's see if one of them takes the initiative to keep in touch soon, hmmm?


	7. Longing

The thing about Rin is that, when he's upset over something, it shows.

And from the way he's been behaving ever since he returned from the short trip with Haruka –spacing out in the middle of a conversation, staring into undesignated spaces for long periods of times, scowling at anything and everything that moves and baring his sharp incisors at those who get on his nerves- Sousuke knows that it's up to him to bring things back under control, since at this point everyone else are close to pissing themselves whenever Rin is near.

In actuality, Rin is as dangerous as a toothless baby tiger; he's all dark gloomy aura on the outside but still gooey melted marshmallow on the inside.

"Brooding doesn't suit you, Rin," Sousuke says that evening, perched on the chair in Rin's room as they work on editing their latest video. 'They' is actually more like a 'he', considering that Rin is hardly any help in his current distraught state.

Sprawled over the bed like a spineless jellyfish, Rin gives his best friend a once-off glare and returns to angrily scrolling down on his phone. "I am not _brooding_."

With a sigh, Sousuke pauses in the midst of mixing the sound effects on his laptop to cross his arms, giving the other boy a patronising look. "Yeah? Well, apparently other people think you are. You look like, and I'm quoting Nitori here, a washed up shark that has swallowed floating plastics and is dying on the shores of Okinawa," he says, shaking his head. "Can you picture how pathetic you look right now? Poor little guy was scared shitless when he saw you."

"—'m not pathetic…"

"You will be soon, if you don't brighten up and stop regretting every little thing you did. Or didn't do." Sousuke stands up to walk over and slump on the bed next to Rin, who makes no effort to shift or give any room. Clearly, he's irritated by Sousuke's attempt at lecturing him. Sousuke is used to this, so he nudges over a little, kicks at Rin's outstretched legs and manages to fit in somehow.

The reason behind Rin's distress is kind of obvious to Sousuke. It's Haruka, that annoying kid (who's friends with Tachibana! That lucky bastard!) whom Rin is harbouring a not-so-subtle crush on. "Just man up and give that mackerel kid your number already," Sousuke mutters, instantly garnering an explosive reaction from Rin.

"But Sou, what if he doesn't _want _to have anything to do with me anymore? What if he's got a girlfriend? What if he thinks I'm disgusting and starts to hate me?!"

"Letting another dude sleep in your arms isn't exactly what you would expect a straight guy to do. You two were _cuddling_, Rin. That's got to raise some red flags. Or rainbow flags, if you catch my drift," Sousuke teases, wiggling his eyebrows and ribbing his friend with his elbow, earning him a loud snarl from the miserable Rin. "Sorry. Look, you said he watched your vids a couple of times, right?"

"Yeah… What's up with that?"

"What's up with that? _What's up with __**that**_, are you stupid, Rin? I don't even watch my favourite anime more than twice! And I fucking _love_ anime, alright!" Sousuke exclaims. "My point is, he's gotta be either super into you, or a crazy serial online predator, which in that case I'll rescue your ass, no worries."

Taken aback by the remark, Rin frowns, baffled by his friend's unprompted encouragements. "Why are you being so supportive, Sou? You're usually fussy as hell whenever it comes to my love life."

There's no use in playing it cool, Sousuke figures, since they're both able to read each other like an open book anyway. "You got me there," he smiles, teal eyes crinkling in child-like giddiness. "I need Tachibana's number."

If Rin's eyes could fall off their sockets, they would have this instance, with how far back he's rolling them at that statement.

"That's what this is all about, you going after Makoto's booty? Geez, thanks a lot, Sou," Rin grunts, trying to shove Sousuke off the bed but failing. Damn, he really should start training his muscles more now.

"Wasn't kidding when I called dibs on him. What can I do, I'm a Makobooty pirate after all. Arrrr!" Sousuke lets out a small chuckle and gets up on his own accord, stretching a little, satisfied at the popping sounds that follow. Walking back towards the laptop, he resumes his task, eyes fixated on the brightly glowing screen. "You know Rin, unlike you, I chase after what I want, and I'm not ashamed to admit it," he says, turning to smirk at his friend. "Now snap out of it, sharkboy, we have a video to finish before Tuesday."

* * *

><p>It's a totally different situation in Haruka's case.<p>

Haruka, when plagued with heavy lingering thoughts in his head, becomes even emptier than he usually is. Eerily quiet and detached, he's far more unreadable than before, shimmying his way out of any conversations with a distant 'hmm' that can only be regarded as rude by those who don't know him. Luckily, Makoto, Nagisa and Rei have been around him enough to not get offended. It's simply the way he expresses -or rather _not _express- himself.

Rei in particular, is sharp enough to crack the code.

Rei rubs his chin wistfully as he observes Haruka staring at a spot on a nearby tree. The black-haired boy is gazing intently at a pair of birds –clearly lovebirds, from their high-pitched cries and the way they snuggle into each other like their lives depend on it- and when the male bird starts grooming its mate with those tender loving pecks, Haruka looks away, frowning just a fraction.

It's then that Rei's epiphany comes barreling in.

"Haruka-senpai, you're pining," Rei states, smiling smugly as if he'd just won 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?', which is really comparable to what deciphering Haruka feels like.

Haruka looks up from the ground -where two beautiful butterflies are fluttering around in some sort of a mating dance; nature's cruel method in tormenting Haruka- to stare wordlessly at his junior. "What?" he asks, bemused.

"Pining, you know, to yearn deeply, to suffer with longing, to long painfully for something unreachable… Ring any bell?"

_Of course _it rang some bells. So much so that the bells are freaking chiming inside his head consecutively now, one after another, mocking his yearning for something he cannot have. Rei's words perfectly describes the feelings he's been refusing to acknowledge. Therefore, instead of admitting, he tries to move the attention away. "You should worry more about Makoto," Haruka mumbles, pointing towards Makoto who's curled up into a ball by the wall, cellphone clutched in one hand and the other cupped over his mouth to muffle the uncontrollable giggles. "He's been acting weird since morning."

Right on cue, Makoto lets out a choked squeal and nuzzles his head onto the tiny cellphone screen, face flushing bright rivalling a tomato. Haruka scowls, but Rei and Nagisa don't even bat an eyelash.

"Oh, I wouldn't fret much about Makoto-senpai! It is perfectly normal for him to act this way, especially when he is hooked on his Tumble account."

"It's Tumblr, Rei-chan! C'mon, say it with me: Tumb-bel-lerrr!"

Rei brushes off Nagisa with a scoff, adjusting his glasses in a haughty manner (even though they're already perfectly seated on the bridge of his nose). "I insist on not pronouncing a word that is not spelled accordingly, Nagisa-kun. If it were to be phonated that way, the 'e' must be present before the sound can be made."

Hearing this, Nagisa puffed his cheeks out and starts to yell. "Silly Rei-chan, it's just a website's name! And it's cooler when spelled wrong!"

"No, it doesn't."

"Yes it does!"

"You're being childish!"

"So what if I am!"

Just when it seems that a heated war is going to break out, the door slams open and a voice calls out loudly.

"Nagisa-kun?" The voice is undoubtedly a girl's. Seconds later, the girl appears, long maroon hair flowing freely from her high ponytail, which instantly reminds Haruka of a certain someone. "Ah I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?" She says, staring at the blonde boy whose hands are caught mid-air, in the process of reaching up to steal Rei's glasses; a classic 'Nagisa tactic' at winning arguments.

"Gou-chaaan!" Nagisa cries out excitedly, enjoying the angry expression that blossoms on Gou's face upon hearing the masculine nickname. Wagging his tongue at Rei, he skips happily towards her and tugs on her hand to bring them closer to the rest. "It's nothing, just Rei-chan being a mean smartypants and Mako-chan blushing over the likes and reblogs he's getting."

Turning to look at Makoto, Gou sees him clutching the phone close to his broad chest (_those pectorals are still delicious even beneath the school jacket!_) while staring at the sky silently, a shy smile on his lips. Evidently a gone case.

"I see..."

"Come Gou-chan, I want you to meet someone. This is Nanase Haruka, also known as Haru-chan!" Haruka glimpses at them from the corner of his deep blue eyes, unamused whatsoever. The girl's name is unnervingly familiar… Where has he heard of her before? "Haru-chan, say hello to Gou-chan! She was the friend who helped us with the comments on Rin's channel, so be nice!"

Rin? What has Rin got to do with-

_Oh. Ohhhh._ It's Rin.

Everything clicks.

"Gou?" Haruka questions, getting up hastily to stand face-to-face with the girl, whose cheeks are turning pink as she stares at his torso with an almost predatory look. Haruka has no interest in knowing what she's gawking so hungrily at. He needs to know if what he's suspecting is true. "You mean, _Matsuoka_ Gou?"

Gou beams up at him and chirps a cheerful reply. "Yeap, the one and only!"

Haruka tenses.

"I need to talk to you for a bit," he says, gesturing her to follow him a few steps away, out from the others' earshot, paying no heed to Nagisa's_'Hey, that's not fair!' _protests. When he's finally convinced that they're within safe distance, he whispers (just for good measure, you never know how good people's hearing can be). "Are you Rin's little sister?"

"Y-yes, umm—"

"And you knew about Rin's YouTube account?"

"Of course I would know, he's my brother!" Gou replies, giggling softly.

Haruka's eyes narrow. The girl is giggling. Giggling girls means _trouble_. "So why did you help out?"

"I… I just wanted him to be happy, and I was hoping you could make that happen, Haruka-senpai."

That vague answer, however, hardly answers Haruka's question. Gou had unmistakably known that he's a guy, and that her brother was hoping to find love, so why would she go through the trouble of conspiring with Nagisa and co to help him win? "Why me? Why not some other girl?" he asks.

Gou visibly hesitates in telling the truth, aware of the hell her brother will put her in if he ever finds out, but as she locks eyes with Haruka's intense, nearly desperate vivid blues, she gives in. It feels unfair to leave him in the dark. "I'll tell you, but promise me that you won't get mad. And that you won't tell the others about this," she says. Haruka nods in agreement, and Gou leans in to whisper when she catches Nagisa edging closer to eavesdrop. "You resemble someone my brother used to like. Well, he didn't even get to talk to that boy, so it's definitely one-sided... But Nagisa showed me your pictures and I figured that you're my nii-chan's type. Black hair, blue eyes, a swimmer…"

Haruka's eyes widen, breath catching in his throat. Rin used to like someone else before? Well that's a new one. He always talks about his personal experiences in his vlogs or shares his feelings and opinions about current events, but never once had he mentioned having any love interests. And hearing it from Rin's little sister just makes the overall broken feelings worse, because it means that Rin doesn't want him to know about his love life. Rin doesn't want him to be a part of it.

It hurts a lot more when put into coherent thoughts like this.

"You like him too, don't you?" Gou suddenly says, smiling gently. Her little smile blossoms into a full-blown grin when she sees how Haruka glows radiantly, turning bashful within seconds (it's the look her brother had when he talked day and night about the gifted boy with ocean blue eyes clear as water; she may be merely nine then, but she remembers, and she knows one when she sees it). Yeap, definitely in love. Or at least, in like.

"…I—"

"HARU-CHAN, GOU-CHAN, CUT IT OUT ALREADYYY~"

Their exchange is cut short by Nagisa's whines, and while Gou looks noticeably annoyed by the interruption, Haruka is silently thankful. He's not sure he can answer the question yet. How can he, when even _he_ can't put a name to his own feelings?

He'll figure it out. He needs to.

It turns out that Nagisa had invited Gou to join their swimming practice that afternoon, after finding out that she has kept copies of her elder brother's training regimes. Haruka glowers when she starts talking animatedly about her brother (mostly about his amazingly sculpted muscles, but there're some relevant details thrown in at some point), referring to Rin as 'nii-chan' and not once mentioning his name. There's a strange satisfaction in being the only one who knows what's actually going on, and as he listens to Gou's stories, Haruka understands why Rin is so protective of her.

The practice has to end early, taking into account that Makoto keeps losing focus and getting woozy with too much blood rushing to his head. Haruka is curious as to what is affecting his childhood friend so severely, but the thought of going through another fiery hell to sign up for that Tumble site they're talking about is enough to make him push the prospect aside.

Done with packing up, Haruka reaches for his shoulder bag. A little piece of paper slotted into the side pocket catches his attention.

_080-673-XXXX  
>Contact him, my big brother doesn't bite (hard!) ^o^<em>

Haruka feels the corners of his mouth twitch, slowly curling into a soft smile.

* * *

><p>It's the same old Tuesday routine for Haruka, except this time, things are a little different.<p>

He doesn't switch his laptop on until late evening, when the sun has begun to set, bathing the room with an iridescent hue of orange-yellow. The usually scrumptious miso mackerel he had for lunch for some reason today is tasteless as rice, and for once, the bath doesn't feel like a thousand layers of downy comforters wrapping around his body, pulling him into its addictive depth. Everything seems strange, and wrong, but that's probably just the side effects of this Rin-deprived-itis.

That, and the fact that he has Rin's freaking _number _now, written on a hidden piece of paper in his bagpack, ready to be called anytime.

Using a cellphone has never sounded more interesting than it does now.

But first, he needs to cure the lack of Rin in his life, so he whips out the laptop and loads SharkBoiUnleashed's latest video. The thumbnail is a picture of Rin in a kimono, and Haruka has to hold onto the table to compose himself. Haruka is way too anxious to even hum the melody when the intro song plays, along with its accompanying graphics.

"_Hello my lovelies!" _Rin waves energetically at the camera, setting free the butterflies in Haruka's stomach. "_Some of you might've forgotten, but I've actually chosen the winner of my contest some time ago, and we went on the date last week. It was a great experience, and I'll share with you footages of the beautiful places we visited. I have to warn you earlier though, Sousuke wasn't there to film stuff, and you know how shaky my hands get when holding a camera,"_ Rin says, making a show of shaking the camera so that everything goes blurry. It turns out to be a nice transition gimmick, because the next thing that fills the screen is the familiar background of the tatami-mat room they shared at the hot springs inn.

"_Now I know that most of you are excited to see who the lucky person was, but for privacy purposes, there won't be any scenes involving them… Yeap, you'll just get to see this ugly face then, hope you don't mind!"_

Haruka frowns at the word ugly. Why would Rin call himself ugly? Rin is cute, beautiful, enchanting, mesmerizing, elegant, and if that 'ugly' face is the only thing he'll get to see for the rest of his life, Haruka thinks that he'll possibly be the happiest man on Earth.

The scene changes, revealing the front view of Aikawa Hot Springs. Rin is using some sort of a one-man camera, because his face is in the video but at the same time, he's walking and filming it. _"Here's the hot springs that we went to," _Rin says, stopping at the front gate. _"And over there, you can see the park. There's this really really huge cherry blossom tree that I want to show you, we stumbled upon it earlier and it was simply breathtaking." _Rin's face suddenly turns soft, gaze becoming gentle and fond like he's recalling a precious memory. _"My date liked it too. Said they wanted to draw a picture of it. I wonder if they've started… I hope they haven't forgotten."_

Haruka glances at the torn out pages from his sketchbook that're scattered on top of the study table. He didn't forget, but the beauty of that sight is just impossible to replicate. He'll have to try harder then.

A great sense of nostalgia washes over Haruka as he watches Rin take his viewers around the places they've gone together, narrating the available attractions, suggesting activities to do as a couple and of course, giving borderline absurd dating tips.

"_The shop rows are pretty nice as well, tons of food to choose from. It's great for a romantic dinner, if you think classy diners are too mainstream, this is perfect for you!" _The video finally returns to Rin in the room, bringing the 'tour' to a full circle. _"So yeah, that's about it. You should know by now that I rarely ever rate the places with a five, but this one truly deserves it. Five hearts for Aikawa Hot Springs!" _Five floating hearts dance in the corner, and Haruka tries to shake off the disappointment upon seeing that the progress bar has 7 seconds left, red almost completely overtaken the grey.

"_Before I forget, I'm gonna leave you with a question: do you believe in love at first sight? Tell me in the comments below and I'll see you again next time!"_

The video ends.

The emptiness returns.

Haruka's aware he has three options now; one: press replay and watch the video over again, like the sad obsessed fanboy he is; two: reach for his cellphone and do something about Rin's number, and three: do nothing except to wallow in self-pity, and regret.

Or four: leave a comment on the video in futile hopes that Rin would notice him in the massive sea of feedback.

But why leave a comment, when he can _text_?

* * *

><p><strong>To:<strong> Rin

**Subject:** (none)

_Rin_

_I Bieber in love at first sight_

_*believe  
><em>

_how does this work_

_rin did you get my massage_

_*message_

* * *

><p>Haruka decides to take his chances.<p>

And now all he can do is wait.

* * *

><p>AN: Omg I honestly wanted to post this on New Year but then whooooppss seven days passed. D: Sorry to keep you waiting! Haruka is slowly getting forced into using technology to communicate... I guess that's sort of a character development, isn't it? My initial idea of the whole fic was in fact to poke fun at Haru's ineptitude (and reluctance) in handling gadgets and stuff, now it's mutating into a story about pathetic boys pining for each other, mehhh I hope you still enjoyed reading ^^

As usual, reviews/favs/follows are really really appreciated! I couldn't have continued without your support!

Fun fact: Makoto runs a popular cosplay Tumblr account. Guess who his biggest fan/follower is? (no doughnuts for you if you get it right HAHA)


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